Searching For (Edward Elric x Reader)
by Vanillagirl6
Summary: You were left behind in Trisha Elric's care by your father. After she died, you tried to resurrect her with the two Elric brothers. But that resulted into losing an arm and leg for Edward and a body for Alphonse as a price to see Truth. Now, you're searching for the Philosopher's Stone with the brothers and information about your true family. {Edward Elric x Reader} T for language.
1. Chapter 1

*Crack. BOOM!*

The thunder shook the house, occasional flashes of lightning from the dark clouds lighting up the sky for a second before vanishing. Trisha Elric prepared for dinner while her two sons, four and three years old, played with their colored wooden blocks as they waited. The oldest son made a little house using a green cube and placing a blue triangle on top of it while his younger brother just stacked different colored cubes one after another. The tower the youngest had made tumbled down from its uneven balance, scattering the cubes everywhere. The two of them laughed as it fell, finding it highly amusing.

***BOOOM!***

The house shook again from the roar of the thunder, scaring the wits out of the two young boys. They ran to their mother for comfort, abandoning their toys strewn across the floor. Trisha laughed softly as her two sons hugged her knees, cowering in fear. Trisha stroked their heads as they buried their faces into her dress, listening to the sound of the wind howling as the rain battered the windows.

*Knock. Knock*

Trisha looked up in surprise at the sound of knocking on the door. Someone was outside, but who could it be at this hour? Especially in this kind of weather. Trisha made her two children let go of her and walked up to the door to open it. When she opened, she saw that outside, in the pouring rain, stood a drenched cloaked man, his face hidden by the hood of his cloak. He held something underneath his attire.

"... May I help you?" Trisha asked the mysterious man. He looked up at the woman in front of him.

"... Please," the man said, almost in a whisper. "take care of this child." He revealed what he had underneath his cloak, showing Trisha a small girl with (h/l) (h/c), around the age of four, sleeping peacefully with a bundle of cloths wrapped around her, keeping her warm and dry from the rain. "Take care of her. Keep her happy. Keep her safe." he begged. Trisha stared at the sleeping girl for a moment and then nodded her head firmly. But before she could take the child into her arms, the man pulled the girl away from Trisha's reach to give the her one last hug. "Remember (Name), Papa loves you. Mama loves you." he whispered into her ear. The child squirmed but carried on sleeping. "I'm sorry..." his voice broke, tears falling from the man's eyes. He handed the girl into the waiting arms of Trisha. "Thank you..." he said. Then he took off into the stormy night. Trisha watched the man go, a flash of lightning making him vanish.

"Mom, who was that?" the oldest son asked as Trisha closed the door gently.

"No one, Edward." she answered him, still looking at the door as though she expected the man to show up and take the little girl back. But he never came. The youngest son saw the bundle his mother was carrying.

"What's that?" he asked her curiously. Trisha sat down on the couch and the two boys crowded around her, wanting to see what their mother was holding. "Who's this?" he asked, looking at the sleeping girl's face.

"Her name's (Name), Alphonse." Trisha told him as she stroked the sleeping child's face. "She's part of our family now." The little girl squirmed again but this time opened her (e/c) eyes. She blinked.

"Ah! She's awake!" Edward exclaimed. The young girl looked at him, confusion written on her face. Then she looked up at Trisha.

"Where am I?" (Name) asked, a hint of panic in her voice. Trisha smiled warmly at her.

"Don't worry, you're safe here."

* * *

I DO NOT own Fullmetal Alchemist nor you! Oh, and this is my first reader insert story so go easy on me!


	2. Chapter 2

**1 Year Later**

"Ed! Al! (Name)!" Trisha called out. "Where are you?" She entered her husband's study and found the three children.

"Oh, my." Was all Trisha could get out. The trio had made quite a mess. Books were scattered all over the wooden floor, some sprawled open and some closed. Al was on his stomach reading one of the books while Ed and (Name) drew transmutation circles on the floor with a piece of chalk. "Messing up the study again?" She questioned. Trisha saw the circles drawn by Ed and (Name). "No, you mustn't scribble there like that." she scolded, not knowing that the circles had to do with alchemy.

"It's not scribbling!" Ed protested. "Watch." The young boy placed his hands on the circle. A flash of blue light and some sparks. When it all faded, there stood a little wooden bird in the middle of the circle.

"That's alchemy, right?" Trisha asked, looking at the wooden bird made out of the floor boards.. Trisha walked up to it and kneeled down. "Did your dad teach you that?" she asked.

"How can we learn anything from someone who's not here?" Ed said strongly.

"We read the book, and it was written in there." Al chirped in.

"It's written in books... You guys could understand these difficult texts?" asked Trisha, surprised.

"A little bit," answered (Name).

"... If other Alchemists found out, it'll make mockery of their efforts." Trisha muttered, sweat dropping.

"... Should we not have done it?" Ed asked, looking dejected.

"Not at all!" A look of joy and pride was on Trisha's face. "Amazing! I'm so proud of the three of you!" Trisha hugged the children.

That's how the trio became caught up in alchemy. A simple idea to make their mother praise them. That simple wish started their interest in Alchemy.

But the summer of that same year, things went all wrong.

* * *

"It's mine!"

"No, it's mine!"

(Name) and Ed and were fighting. About what exactly? Well... Something really silly. They were fighting over a book, the book that contained other little information about alchemy. But, then again, they _are_ only five years old.

"I want to read it!" (Name) argued.

"Well, me, too!" Edward argued back.

"I grabbed it first!"

"No, I did!"

"How could you have done that? It's too high for a short guy like you to reach!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORT!"

"YOU, YOU IDIOT!"

"Um... Guys, come on. You both could read it together..." Al tried to reason.

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" Ed and (Name) yelled at him, giving poor Al a scary look.

"EEP! Mom! Please stop these two!" Alphonse cried for Trisha, anime tears pouring down from his eyes.

"Come on, you two. Break it up." Trisha tried to calm the two kids who were glaring at each other.

"See, (Name). Let's listen to our mom and give the book to me." Edward growled. An irk mark appeared on (Name)'s forehead.

"SHE'S NOT MY MOTHER!" (Name) screamed. Silence filled the room. An awkward one, not to mention. "Ah..." (Name) glanced over at Trisha, who's eyes were wide with shock and surprise. Edward and Alphonse stared at (Name).

"... I'm going to Winry's." (Name) walked briskly away. "You can have the book, Ed." She ran out of the house.

"(Name)! Wait!" Trisha called for her, but the said girl didn't look back. (Name) just kept on running. Soon, she arrived at the Rockbell's estate. (Name) pounded knocked on the door.

"Yes?" Winry Rockbell, (Name)'s best friend **(A/N: If you hate Winry, well, too bad! I like her even though she t-... Woah, I almost spoiled it to the other readers...),** opened the door. "Oh, (Name)!" She greeted her friend with a smile. But the smile soon disappeared. "(Name), what's wrong? You're crying." Indeed (Name) was. Tears were streaming, no, pouring down from her eyes, showing no signs of stopping. The five year old hugged her best friend and bawled onto her shoulder.

"... E-Ed and I," (Name) said in between hiccups and sobs. "W-we got into a fight... and Trisha... tried to stop us... and I said that she's... not my m-mother." More bawling. "I... said something terrible to her... Now she's going to h-h-hate me..." Winry patted (Name)'s back. After a while, she finally calmed down. Just a little.

"(Name)," the said girl looked up and saw Granny Pinako with the dog, Den, by her side. "Trisha won't hate you. She loves you too much." Pinako said, giving the girl a gentle warm smile. "Even though she's not your true mother, she still thinks of you as her daughter."

"... Thank you, Granny Pinako." (Name) sniffed and wiped her tears away. Just then, Edward and Alphonse came running frantically up to Winry's house.

"(Name)!" they called out. She turned around at the sound of their voices.

"Ed! Al!" (Name) greeted the two boys with a smile but it soon faltered when she saw the looks on their faces.

Something was wrong.

"(Name)! It's mother! She collapsed and she won't get back up!"

* * *

(Name) was standing by her grave, biting her lips so she wouldn't cry. Alphonse had his head buried in (Name)'s shoulder, sobbing and shaking weakly as he allowed himself to wail. Edward was on her other side, his forearm raised over his eyes and most of his face as he bawled like the child he was.

(Name)'s shoulders shook slightly in her effort to keep quiet, but the dam broke and the tears of her own started to pour down as well.

It was a big funeral for the small town of Resembool, everyone in the quiet land had gathered to say farewell to beautiful Trisha. The people spoke in hushed voices around three children as the casket was lowered, as if they all were simply too young to understand exactly what they were saying.

But (Name) clearly understood them.

"They say the sickness has been going around," and older man murmured to the small group of people around him. It was true. An epidemic had swept the country during the summer, resulting into many people getting sick. Even Trisha. She had stayed with the three of you for a few weeks, but soon passed on.

"How sad… she left behind three children," a younger woman glanced at the three in pity. (Name)'s fists tightened.

"But what about her husband?" a middle aged man muttered.

(Name)'s head turned slightly, hoping they'd know something she didn't on the subject. Only Pinako noticed the movement, as she and Winry attempted to soothe the brothers.

"I don't know where he is," the older man shrugged reluctantly. "We have no way to get in touch with him."

(Name) head lowered once again. They were just as clueless as she was on her best friends father's whereabouts.

The woman shook her head, "Poor kids."

* * *

(Name) sat next Edward and Alphonse, staring at the stone that had the words 'Trisha Elric' carved onto it. They had wanted to come see her grave again, and who was she to tell them no?

"Nii-san, I'm hungry," Al's voice whimpered, drawing (Name)'s attention away from the grave, to the four year old. "And cold."

Ed said nothing. He merely stared hard at the tombstone, as if it held all the answers.

"In one of the alchemy books I read, they say you can make people with alchemy. They call it a homunculus. It also said that human beings are made up of the mind, the soul and the physical body," Ed finally spoke and (Name) and Al turned to look at him.

"Uh huh. I read that, too," Al nodded in recognition. Your eyes narrowed a little.

"What are you getting at, Ed?" (Name) questioned, her voice soft.

"If that's true, I wonder if we can bring mother back."

(Name)'s eyes went wide as a soft gasp left Al's lips.

"But it said that it's _forbidden_ to create a human being using alchemy!"

"Al's right. Even if we could, there has never been a successful transmutation. It would take years to even come _close_ to a theory that had the slightest possibility of succession. Not to mention the punishment we'd get for even thinking of trying it," (Name) pointed out. Sure, it would be great, no, it would be _amazing_ if it worked. But be realistic!

If alchemists were trying for centuries to perfect that one transmutation and failed every time, what could a couple of kids do?

But then again, Ed had that look in his eyes, and (Name) knew he wouldn't just back down.

"Yeah. That's why… it'll be our secret."


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N: Now the story will be told in first person point of view)**

6 Years Later

We were all huddled together in the backroom of the house. There was a storm going on outside. Rain heavily pouring, pelting the roof, flashes of occasional lighting, illuminating the candle lit room, soon followed by the loud whip-like crack of thunder.

The three of us, that is, Edward, Alphonse, and I, were too focused on putting the last finishing touches for the transmutation were about to preform. We could even care less about what was going on outside.

Ed pulled his hand away from the ground where he had just drawn the circle with a piece of chalk. "This outta do it." Ed confirmed. "Now, we just need some soul data." Ed and Al got a small knife and made a little cut on their finger, big enough for a few drops of blood to flow out. The blood landed on the pile of materials we had gathered. My own blood was not needed. In order to transmute Tri- I mean mother, blood from someone not blood related was not needed

We placed our hands on the transmutation circle.

"Here we go, guys."

"Yeah."

Ed then applied pressure to his hands, quickly followed by Al and me. The circle activated, glowing blue as sparks flashed, informing is that the transmutation was working perfectly.

Nothing was out of the ordinary. Everything was going according to plan. So far so good. But... The thought of doing that is forbidden sill left me unnerved. Many have have failed trying to achieve this. Will a couple of kids like us, even have a chance of succeding?

Too absorbed in my current thought, I didn't notice the eldest Elric place his hand over mine. He gave it a gentle squeeze, capturing my attention. I turned my gaze towards him and Ed smiled warmly and encouragingly at me, making me calm down. We've been working on this for years. Everything will be fine. It'll be alright.

Soon, I'll get to see mother again. And then, everything will go back to the way they were.

One family again.

But that happy thought was shattered when when suddenly mist like blackness seeped out of the circle, making the room turn purple.

"Brother, there's something stranger here." Al said fearfully.

Suddenly, a huge eye opened up in the middle of the transmutation circle, along with some kind of black tentacle like arms, They reached for us.

Al's hand broke off. He screamed.

"Al!"

Then Ed's left leg broke off as well, making him scream in pain. He fell to the ground, the tentacle hands around his leg.

No... This couldn't be happening... A rebound?!

"Ed! Al!" I called out to them.

"Brother! (Name)!" Al reached for us as we reached for him. He was crumbling away.

"NO! AL!"

A flash of bright light filled the room, blinding me. Then, I found myself in front of a gate in a white room.

"Al? Ed?" I looked around the whitness, searching for the two brothers, but they weren't anywhere to be found. "Hello?"

"Hey." A voice, no, something that sounded like multiple of different voices but spoke as one called out. I turned around and saw a white figure, surrounded by a bit of darkness to shape out its form, cross-legged. It didn't have a face.

"...Who are you?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"Oh, I glad you asked that." It threw up its hands as though it was rejoicing. "I am what you call the world. Or perhaps the universe, or perhaps God," it said. "or perhaps truth, or perhaps all, or perhaps one, and I am also..." It raised its hand and pointed it at me. "You."

A sudden loud distracted me and I turned to see the gate opening, revealing empty darkness. An eye popped open form the inside and stared right at me.

"Welcome, you stupid fool who doesn't know her own place."

The tentacle like arms reached out and grabbed me, making it impossible for me to run away. It dragged me into the gate as I screamed and struggled. "Pipe down. This is what you wanted, isn't it?" the white figure said. The gate started to close, and I kept on screaming.

"I will show you the Truth!" it told me. The the gate slammed shut, and I was sucked into the darkness. But soon, the darkness was gone and I was seeing a blinding whirl of color and sound.

"Stop! My head... I can't take it!" I cried out.

It was as if everything, everything in the universe, all the knowledge and information of it, was being stuffed directly into my head and consciousness. It was painful, yet at the same time, it was numbing.

I felt like I was being broken down and when I looked at my hand, I _was _being broken down, crumbling away.

"No! Stop it! STOP!" I screamed. It felt like my head was going to burst open any minute. But then suddenly, something clicked, and I understood. It made sense.

This. Was. Truth.

I fought and struggled, but to no avail. My attempt was futile. I kept on crumbling away. "Help me..." I sobbed out. "Mother... Make it stop!" And my plea was answered, because it stopped. I found myself in front of the gate once again, in front of the white figure.

"How was it?" it asked me.

"It... It was overwhelming." I answered. "What was that?"

"That, is Truth." It slowly stood up. "Now that you've seen it, its time to pay the toll."

"Toll?"

"Yes, toll." It took a step towards me. As it did, its left leg materialized into flesh. I quickly look down to check my own leg and found it was still there. I looked up and saw the figure's faceless face right in front of me. But this time, I could see a line of its mouth.

"It's an equivalent exchange, right? Alchemist?" The figure's own face crumbled away and was replaced with Al's. I screamed again.

* * *

I opened my eyes (since when were they closed?), and found myself back in the room I was previously in before all the gate incident. I saw Ed screaming in pain while clutching his left leg, or at least the stub where his leg used to be. A small puddle of blood forming beneath the ghastly wound. The leg look like it had been chopped off.

I couldn't move. I felt weak, and my body felt like lead. My head felt like it was going to explode. I could only move my eyes around.

Where was Al?

I scanned the room and found his clothes, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Damn! This can't be happening!" Ed screamed. "It wasn't... It wasn't supposed to..." He crawled over to the still active transmutation circle. "Damn it all! It's been taken away!" Ed slumped to the ground. "Al..." Ed whimpered, gazing at the spot where his younger brother once was. "Alphonse, say something." Alas, Al's young innocent voice didn't reply to reassure his older brother that all was well. Ed's distressed cry filled the room when he realized that Al was no longer with us. "No! NO! Stay with me!"

Ed breathed heavily, trying his best to endure the great amount of pain he was in from having lost a limb. With great effort, I lift my arm and reached out to him.

'Ed...' My arm slumped back to the ground, still outstretched towards him .

He looked up and saw me a few feet away from him. "(N... Name)..." Ed whimpered. Using what little energy he had left, Ed crawled over to me. I felt my friend's bloody hand grasp my own, holding it tightly. He started to sob.

The transmutation had now ended, and smoke filled the room. I lifted my head with difficulty and focused my eyes on what was lying in the middle of the transmutation circle. What were results? Did we, at least, succeed? Unfortunately, the smoke blocked my view. After the smoke began to dissolve, I caught sight of a pale arm.

"... Mother?" I rasped out, hope slowly rising. Ed stopped crying and looked up as well, but what we saw was something that was not what we had expected.

Because what we created wasn't our mother.

Ed's horrified scream was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.

* * *

So I wrote a few chapters of this story just for fun... I might not continue it though. But if you guys like it, I could. Just comment and favorite if you want me to! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**(A/N: Looks like I lied about writing the story in first person point of view. Now the story will be told in second person! Enjoy readers! P.S: Thanks for all the favorites and nice comments! :D)**

*Bark! Bark!*

"Be quiet, Den." the door to the Auto Mail Rockbell shop opened, revealing Pinako Rockbell. "Don't bark at our guests-" A soldier with short black hair and piercing coal eyes pushed his way through, followed by a young woman with blonde pixie cut hair.

"Sorry for the intrusion, Mrs. Rockbell." he said.

"Wha- hey, you! What are soldiers bursting in here for?!" Pinako demanded to know.

"My apologies, we heard that the Elric should be here so..." the young woman said.

The black haired man and looked around the house. Then he spotted Edward in a wheelchair, Alphonse, in a suit of armor, right behind him and you by his side in the corner. His gaze hardened and he walked briskly up to Edward. He picked him up by the collar.

"We went to your house! What was that over there?!" the man demanded. "What did you make?!" Edward didn't say anything but just looked down as a shadow fell across his face.

"Let him go!" you yelled at the man. He directed his gaze at you and his eyes widened. Shock were in his eyes.

"... Mary?" he whispered. But you didn't hear him. He had said it far too quietly for you to even hear it.

"Put him down! Please..." Tears started to fall from your eyes. "Please don't hurt him! We're sorry about what we did... We didn't mean it... So just..." You put your hands to your face and started crying. Alphonse came up to the black haired man and gently laid his hand on the man's arm that was holding Edward up by the collar. The man pulled his gaze away from the crying you and focused it on Alphonse.

"We're sorry. Please forgive us." he said. "We're sorry... we're sorry..." Alphonse started shaking. If he could also cry, he would be doing so right now. "We're sorry..."

"Wait, are you..."

* * *

"This is a surprise."

Now, Granny Pinako, the soldier, who had introduced himself as Roy Mustang, and Edward, Alphonse, and you, were in the dinning room. "I heard that there was a brilliant alchemist here, so I came to see him," Roy looked at Edward and you. "but I never imagined that two children like this could ever perform human transmutation, imperfect though it was," He then looked up at Alphonse. "and even bond a soul to a suit of armor. I'd say the two of them are both more than qualified to become State Alchemists." He looked at Pinako.

"Once they become State Alchemists, they will have to serve as a soldier in the event of an emergency, but at the same time, they will receive various special privileges, and research of the highest level will become possible for them. They may even find a way to get their bodies back, or-" Pinako cut him off by slapping her pipe on the ash tray.

"After they came stumbling in here, covered with blood, I went over to their house. What was there... What was there was not human!" Pinako yelled. "Is alchemy what created that horrific thing?! I'm against it! Would you have these children go through hell again?!"

"Mrs. Rockbell, I'm not forcing hem to do anything. I'm just offering the possibility." He turned and spoke to the two of you. "Whether to move forward, or whether to stay still. Will you end your days in despair, or will you seek the possibilities, and bow to the military? If the possibility is there, you should move forward, in order to get your bodies back. Even of the way is ahead is through a river of mud."

Now Roy and the lady he was with were about to leave. Alphonse, Granny Pinako, Winry, and you were outside to see them off. Just before Roy was about to board the cart that would take him the train station, he turned towards you.

"What's your name, young lady?" he asked you. The question took you by surprise.

'I-It's (Name), sir." you answered him. He gave you a long look, as though studying you. This made you feel really uncomfortable. Have you done something wrong? But you showed no sign of your uneasiness as you returned the stare. Roy then put his hand inside his coat pocket and took out something, which he handed it to you.

"Here, take it. It is now yours to keep. But then again, it was yours to begin with." Roy said, giving you a smile. He placed the object into your now outstretched hands. You looked to see what it was and saw that it was a silver locket. A crescent moon was on it along with little stars near the moon. A keyhole could be seen on it as well** (A/N: Pretend there is a keyhole)**. You looked back up at him.

"But why?" You asked him. Roy just shrugged.

"I was asked to deliver this, nothing more. I wasn't given that much details about it. I did my job and now, it is yours." He ruffled your hair, much to your displeasure. The two soldiers left, leaving the four of you behind.

* * *

**(As Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye leaves)**

"Will they be coming?" Riza asked Roy.

"Yes, they will." answered Roy.

"That boy, he had a spiritless look is his eyes." said Riza.

"You think so? Those... were eyes that had flames in them."

"And that girl, (Name)... She looked just like Mary..."

"Yes. I never thought that in my life, I would see her face again." Roy chuckled. "Small world."

"Do you think that child is...?"

"Who knows? She might or might not be... We can't be so sure of it, yet."

* * *

"Sure you won't regret this?"

"Mm-hmm, I've already made up my mind."

Right now, you were in the surgery room at Winry's house. Edward was on the surgery bed while Alphonse and you were by his side. He had just made up his mind to get auto-mails for his arm and leg. "How long will the surgery and rehabilitation take?" Edward asked Granny Pinako.

"About three years." Pinako answered him. Edward closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again, a determined look in it.

"One year!" he declared. "I'll do it in one year."

"You're gonna be spitting blood." Pinako warned him. Edward just nodded, the determined look in his eyes unwavering . He turned to his younger brother and you.

"Al, hang in there for a little while longer. I'm going to get you your body back." he promised.

"Mm-hmm, and when that happens, Brother, your body will be with it." Al said. You reached over to him and gave Edward a hug.

"Be careful, okay? Don't push yourself too hard." You told him. "We'll both get your bodies back. Soon." Edward merely nodded as he returned the hug.

* * *

**(One Year Later)**

A year had passed, and you were watching the two Elric brother ninja fighting sparring against each other. Ed had gotten his auto-mail and had it rehabilitated in one year, just like he said. He had actually done it. Now the painful year has passed for the eldest Elric. His hair has gotten long along the year that he now wears it in a braided ponytail

"Looks like you're in perfect shape, Brother. Your body's all fixed up now, don't you think?" Al said.

"Yeah! Just alchemy left to train now. Since I haven't used it since." said Ed.

"You haven't used it since you affixed Al's soul." you commented. Ed took a deep breath and clapped his hands and performed alchemy, turning his now auto-mail arm into a sword.

"Brother!"

"Perfect, perfect." Ed said, grinning wickedly.

"That's amazing, Brother! You did it without a transmutation circle!" Al said.

"Just like how our master does it!" you exclaimed.

"... You can do it, too, can't you?" Ed asked.

"No, Brother." answered Al.

"You didn't see it?"

"See... What?" Al asked, puzzled.

"No... never mind. What about you, (Name)?" he asked you. "Can you do it? Did you see it, too?" You thought for a moment, trying to understand what Ed meant. Then you remembered your encounter with Truth. Could it be?

"... Let me try." You clapped your hands together and performed alchemy on Ed's auto-mail. It returned back to an arm. "Huh, Looks like I can." You mused.

"Amazing! You two are amazing!" Al exclaimed. You smiled sheepishly at him, embarrassed about the praise you were given.

"So you saw it." Ed said. Your smile faded and your face grew serious.

"... Yeah." Just then, a wrench flew towards you, which you luckily ducked at the last minute. But that resulted into Ed getting hit in the head by the wrench.

"Hey! You transformed your auto-mail, didn't you?!" Winry yelled at Ed, who was clutching his head in pain.

"So you're gonna transform my head instead?!" He got up. "Ow... geez..." Ed complained, rubbing the place where the wrench hit. "Uncute machine freak." He muttered, loud enough for Winry to hear, who flushed at the unkind comment.

"Ed, be nice!" You scolded him.

"Like I care if I'm not cute! I'm fine with being a machine freak, too!" Winry yelled. "I've decided to support you until you get your limbs back!"

"Wha?" The expression on Ed's face after Winry's announcement made you laugh. Suddenly, you remembered something.

"Hey, Winry, there's a favor I want to ask of you." you said to her.

"Hm? What is it?" she asked you.

"I need you to make an auto-mail covering for my arm." Winry gave you a quizzical look.

"What for?" she questioned.

"For battle. It may come in handy someday." you simply told her. Winry blinked.

"Oh. Okay then. But you'll have to wait for awhile." Winry told you.

"Do you think you could get it done by today?" you asked her. She blinked again.

"But aren't you going to take the State Alchemist Exam today? Weren't you planning to leave soon?" Ed looked at you when he heard this.

"Looks like I won't be taking it." you grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of your head. "Maybe next time." You turned to the eldest Elric. "Think you can handle it without me?" He grinned at you.

"Of course!"

* * *

**(While Ed's gone off to take State Alchemist test, you're outside with Al and Winry, who is making your auto-mail covering)**

The wind caressed your (h/c) hair, letting it gently whip across your face as your (e/c) stared off into the distance. Winry focused on putting the metal covering on you while Al stared off into the distance as well.

"I wonder if Brother is doing all right on the exams..." Al said, breaking the silence between the three of you.

"I just hope he doesn't do anything recklessly stupid that makes him mess up his exam." you muttered. **(A/N: You have no idea, dear reader. Or maybe you do.)**

"Hey, (Name)?" Winry said.

"Hm? What's up?" you asked her.

"... If Ed becomes a State Alchemist... will you be leaving this town?" A moment of silence.

"Yes."

* * *

You watched as the red tongues of flame engulfed your home. Everything was going up in flames, every little possessions. The one place you called your home, is now no more. You didn't say a word as you watched.

Ed had gotten his State Alchemist License and now, you are going with the Elric brothers to get their bodies back. And maybe, while you're at it, you could try and find your real parents. Just the thought of that made questions run through your head. Who were your parents? You clutched the silver locket that hung around your neck. For some strange reason, it felt like this locket is a clue to your search. But you can't open it. It needed a key.

You pulled the hood over your head from the cape you had made using alchemy. Even if you are trying to regain Ed and Al's original bodies, you are still seeking forbidden human transmutation. You knew, that if the three of you fail, you might disappear from this world for good. Who knows, you might be punished more severely than that...

"There is no turning back." Ed said has he threw the torch into the flames.

"Yup." said Al. You then noticed Winry crying.

"Why are you crying?" Ed asked her.

"But... But..." Winry hiccuped. You gave your best friend a hug.

"Ah, come on, Winry. Don't cry." You soothed her, giving her a small smile.

"You're helpless." Ed said to the crying girl. "Your crying hasn't changed at all, Winry."

Whether the punishment is severe or whatnot, you have already made your decision.

There really is no turning back now.

* * *

Well, looks like I'm going to have to continue the story. Comment or favorite, do as you please!  
And now, (bows) the curtain has dropped. The show is over. For now, that is.  
Until we meet again, dear readers~


	5. Chapter 5

_"Children of God who live on this Earth, have faith and thou shall be saved." _The radio droned on. _"The God of the Sun, Leto, enlightens thy path. Behold, having descended from his throne, the Lord shall save thee from thy sins. As a messenger of the Sun God, I am your Father _**(A/N: Star Wars, anyone?)**."

"... A radio broadcast of a sermon?" Alphonse questioned.

"A messenger of God... What's that?" Edward asked, putting a piece of food into his mouth.

"Who knows?" you answered him, fiddling with your locket.

"I think I ought to be saying 'what's that' about you three," said the shopkeeper. "Are you street performers?" Edward spit into his drink while you almost died chortling. Well, you can't blame the man. A suit of armor, a short blonde boy with an unfamiliar face, and a girl in a cloak with the hood over herself is a suspiciously strange sight. Especially the armor part. It was attracting quite some attentions.

"Okay, pops, what part of us looks like street performers?" Edward asked, ignoring your bouts of laughter.

"I keep looking and that's all you could be..." the shopkeeper muttered. "I don't see people with faces like yours around these parts often. Tourists?"

"Yeah, we're just looking for something." You told him, wiping tears from your eyes.

"Anyway, what's with this broadcast?" Edward inquired the shopkeeper.

"You haven't heard of Lord Cornello?"

"... Who?"

"Father Cornello!" the shopkeeper said. "Messenger of Leto, the Sun God!"

"The founder of Letoism, the one with the 'power of miracles'," one of the guests added, overhearing the conversation. "He's this really wonderful man who came to this city a couple of years ago and showed us the way of God!"

"It's incredible!" Another guest joined in.

"Definitely the power of God!" But Edward had shut off the conversation and stopped listening.

"... You're not even listening, kid." the shopkeeper said to you irritably.

"I'm not really the religious type of person," Edward told him. "I'm stuffed. Let's beat it." He stood up from his seat.

"Yep." As Alphonse also tried to stand, he bumped his head on the roof of the shop, knocking the radio off the shelf. The radio shattered into a mess of pieces, sprawling out over the sandy, dusty ground.

"AHH!" the shopkeeper yelled. "Hey! Don't cause any problems here! It's all because you're walking around in a suit like that!"

"Sorry, sorry. We'll fix it right up." Edward reassured the shopkeeper.

"'Fix'? How?" he asked, scratching his head.

"Just watch," you said to the man. Alphonse collected the scattered pieces into a pile and drew a transmutation circle. He placed his hand over it.

"Right! Okay, Here I go~." There was a flash of blue light and some sparks. Soon, all that was left was a large cloud of smoke, and when it cleared, the shopkeeper and a few onlookers gasped. In the center of the transmutation circle, there stood the radio intact, good as new.

"How's this?" asked Edward, casually glancing over his shoulder.

"... I'm totally stunned." the shopkeeper said, gawking at the radio that continued to broadcast the sermon. "You can use the 'power of miracles'!?"

"Say what?" you asked. Power of miracles? What an absurd thought!

"We're Alchemists." Alphonse told the man, a smile quite evident in his tone.

"Just call us the Elric brothers. We're sort of famous." said Ed, crossing his arms over his chest as he shot the people with a cocky smirk. "And this is our good, dear friend, (Name)." he introduced you, nodding in your direction.

"Elric, eh... the Elric's?" the men seemed to be trying to rack their brains for any sort of infromation on the subject. "(Name)..." Muttering filled the air as the men were turning to each other for information

"Oh! I've heard of them before!" a man suddenly shouted out. "They say that the older brother is a State Alchemist! And their mysterious companion is said to be as good as he is even though he's not a State Alchemist!" Did he just say 'he'? You decided to shake off the question

"The 'Fullmetal Alchemist,' Edward Elric!" Edward smirk grew at the mention of his alias name.

"Yes!" he chuckled, highly pleased that his name was becoming well known. You just looked down and blushed at their praise, glad that your hood was hiding your face.

Then everything happened so fast. You and Alphonse were suddenly swept away by the men as they stared at the two of you in awe.

"So you're those rumored alchemists!"

"You must be (Name)! I've heard SO MUCH about you!"

"I get it! Since you're wearing this armor, you're also called 'Fullmetal'!"

Alphonse put his hands up in defense, laughing nervously while shaking his head 'no'. "Um, I'm not him..."

"Huh?"

"Then the shorty over there...?" Stares at the blondie who had irk marks appearing on his forehead. That was all it took for Edward to finally snap.

"WHO'S THE SUPER SMALL SPECK! WHAT ELSE YOU WANNA CALL ME?! A HALF-PINT BEANSPROUT MIDGET?! I'M STILL GROWING YOU BACKWATER DESERT IDIOTS!" Edward screamed, whirling around and throwing random objects at the terrified group of men who ran away. Oh boy...

"Ed, calm down. They didn't say that much." you said to the fuming short boy. But you were trying your best not to laugh.

"_I'm _the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric!" Edward said angrily, pointing to himself.

"I'm the little brother, Alphonse Elric." Alphonse introduced himself.

"And, yes, I'm (Name). Also an alchemist and the one who makes sure they don't do anything stupid."

"Ex... Excuse us..." You chuckled at their fearful expression from Edward's rant.

"Hello!" a voice cheerfully called out. "It's a little lively today!" You turned to see a girl about your age with long brown hair and pink bangs running up to the shop.

"Oh, hello, Rose." the shopkeeper greeted. "Going to the church again?"

"Yes, I need to make some offerings," the girl, Rose, told him. "Same stuff as usual." Then she noticed the three of you. "Oh, I haven't met you before."

"They said they're alchemists. Seems like their looking for something." the shopkeeper told Rose. Rose took the bag of her purchase offerings. She trotted a few steps away, but then stopped in her tracks and twirled around, flashing you a bright smile.

"I hope you find what you're looking for!" Rose cheerfully said to you. "May Leto protect you!"

"... Thanks." you replied. She didn't need to add the last part about Leto or whatever. Rose then turned back around and rushed off.

"Rose has become a lot more energetic." a guest commented.

"It's all thanks to the Father Cornello." Another man agreed with a nod of his head.

"Huh?" Edward questions. Who is this Cornello guy?

"That girl, she ain't got no relatives, but on top of that, her boyfriend died in an accident this year..." the shopkeeper said.

"Oh, my." you said as you put your hand over your mouth, feeling sorry for Rose. Poor girl.

"Yeah. you'd think she'd be sad, but she didn't look so down." another guest said. "What saved her were the teachings of Cornello, the messenger of the Sun God, Leto!"

"He who gives everlasting life to the living and rebirth to the dead. The 'power of miracles' proves that." a different guest added. "You guys should take a look too! That's definitely the power of God!"

"'Rebirth to the dead', huh...?" Edward muttered. "This smells fishy."

"It sure does." you agreed. Edward shot you a grin.

"Then how about we check it out, huh, (Name)?"

_"Have faith!" _the radio blared. _"Thy wishes shall be answered."_

* * *

"Whoa..." you admired the cathedral's beautiful structure. Placing your hand on one of the marble pillars, you glanced up at the giant statue of Leto. He didn't really look all that appealing to you. He looked mote like he came from some kind of Greek mythology. Edward seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"What's so great about this guy, anyway?" Edward questioned, tapping the giant stone statue of Leto with his knuckle. "He hardly looks like a guy worth worshiping." He then smirked. "It's times like these that I'm glad I'm agnostic." Edward mused.

"Brother, why did you even bring us here?" Alphonse asked the blonde boy curiously.

"Oh, you three again!" You turned around to see Rose entering the room with a large smile on her face. You blinked owlishly for a moment, your mind slowly putting the pieces together. Ah, so _she's_ part of the reason as to why you're here. Knowing Ed, he's gonna go all scientific in a second…

"Are you going to join the church of Leto?" Rose asked, taking a stand beside you. Edward arched a brow, somewhat amused that Rose thought we were here to join her religion.

"Naw... sorry, but I'm not religious." Edward informed the girl.

Rose giggled and shook her head, placing her right hand over her chest, her eyes slowly sliding shut. "That's not a real answer! If you believe in God, you can live with hope and gratitude every day. It's wonderful!"

You blinked a few times, watching on with sweat-drops. Pink sparkles were currently surrounding Rose. How weird… It was then Rose's eyes immediately snapped open, startling all of you.

"If you have faith, you'll grow taller for sure! Miracles do happen!" Rose shouted with sincerity, fire burning brightly in her beautiful brown eyes. It wasn't hard for any of you to know just _who_ exactly it was in your little group that she was referring to.

"What was that?!" Edward growled.

"She didn't mean anything bad!" you quickly reassured him as Alphonse held him back from attacking the girl. After he calmed down, Alphonse let him go.

"_Sheesh…_" Edward muttered, pulling himself out of Alphonse's firm hold. You watched your friend walk past you and plop down onto the bench behind. "How can you honestly buy these things?" Edward queried, his gaze sweeping towards Rose. "Do you really believe that if you pray to God the dead will come back to life?"

"Yes," Rose replied, allowing her eyes to slowly slid shut. "I do...!"

You sighed. Really, believing in something foolish like that. But that's just what humans do. They try to find something they could rely on, something that's big and great to hold on to when things get hard. A little inkling of hope, a hope that told you that something was out there that would ease your suffering when life gets rough. A comforting thought, no?

But, it seems more like you're trying to run away from reality instead of facing it head on.

Edward released a puff of air, knowing that it would probably take a lot more to try and convince Rose to look at this scientifically. Reaching into his coat pocket, Ed pulled out his old trusty, weathered travel log.

"Water: 35 liters.

Carbon: 20kg.

Ammonia: 4 liters.

Lime: 1.5 kg.

Phosphorus: 800 g.

Salt: 250 g.

Saltpeter: 100 g.

Sulfur: 80 g.

Silicon: 80 g.

And 15 other elements in small qualities…"

Rose seemed overwhelmed with all the information Edward was reading her from his book. "…Huh?" was all the poor girl was able to respond.

"That's the total makeup of the average human body." Edward calculated, staring at the pages of his small book with a rather glazed look. "Modern science knows all this, but there has never been a single example of successful human transmutation. It's like there's some missing ingredient..." Ed muttered, furrowing his brows at the thought. "Scientists have been trying to find it for hundreds of years, pouring tons of money into research, and to this day they still don't have a theory." Edward closed his eyes, snapping his travel log shut.

"They say science is a lost cause, but I think it's better than sitting around praying and waiting for something to happen. For that matter, the elements found in a human being…is all junk that you can buy in any market with a child's allowance. Humans are pretty cheaply made." Edward chuckled. His comment seemed to offend Rose.

"People aren't OBJECTS! That's an insult to the creator! God will punish you for saying things like that!" Rose shouted angrily. Edward didn't seem fazed at all by the girl's outburst, he merely laughed in reply, placing his travel log back in his coat pocket. He was acting so casual. You shot Edward a strange look, wondering where he was going with this.

"Way to impress the girl, Ed…"you muttered, shaking your head at Edward's usual cockiness.

"It's ironic that we scientists…who don't believe in God…are in sense the closest things to him." Ed continued in a light tone, allowing his gaze to drift over to the giant statue of Leto.

"What pride…" Rose huffed, narrowing her eyes at the blonde boy sitting on the bench. "Are you saying that you're God's equal?"

Edward released a low chuckle, his eyes sliding shut as his lips formed a smirk. "Well…it's like that myth about the hero…" Edward explained. "He made wings out of wax so he could fly…but when he got too close to the sun…to God…the wax melted and he crashed to the ground…"

"Ah, why do you have to be so scientific, Ed…?" you questioned your friend, placing your hands on your hips. Edward opened his eyes and shot you a grin and childishly stuck out his tongue in response. "Oh, real mature, Ed." you droned in a sarcastic tone, causing the young man to laugh.

Meanwhile, Rose apparently didn't seem to understand the concept of Ed's theory.

* * *

Cornello stood outside his cathedral, waving to enormous crowd before him. The people were throwing flowers into the air, cheering for their "Holiness" on to perform some sort of miracle for them.

Holding out his left hand, a small flower fell into Cornello's palm. Covering the flower with both hands, red sparks began to emit from the ring that Cornello was wearing. Raising his arms above his head, the man opened his hands to reveal a giant sun flower, causing the crowd to go wild at his recently preformed "miracle".

"So that's it... What do you guys think?" Edward asked, glancing at you and Alphonse for your thoughts.

"The metamorphosis reaction can only be alchemy, no doubt about it." you replied with a frown. So Cornello really was a fruad after all, huh. Edward nodded his head in agreement, standing atop his suitcase to get a better view of Cornello in action.

"That's what I thought too." he mumbled.

"So, you came to see him after all!" Rose's voice rang out.

You all turned your heads to the right to see Rose carefully making her way through the crowd to join you. The moment she reached you guys, a giant smile appeared on her lips as she motioned to Cornello. "See!? He DOES have miraculous powers. Father Cornello is the sun god's child!"

"Naw. That's alchemy no matter how you look at it. Cornello's a fraud." Edward stated in a monotone, placing a hand on his chin while keeping his gaze locked on the man. Rose narrowed her eyes in irritation, opening her mouth to lash out at Edward, only to be cut off by Alphonse.

"But he can bypass laws for some reason." The younger Elric pointed out.

"Yeah… That's the problem right there." Edward sighed, running his left hand through his hair.

" 'The laws'?" Rose seemed confused by our words.

"Most people think that alchemy can do anything and create whatever we want…" Alphonse began, trying his best to explain this to the simple minded young woman beside him. "…But in reality there are certain concrete laws."

"I guess the big concepts are 'The Law of Conservation of Mass' and 'The Law of Natural Providence'**. **Although some alchemists conjure with the four elements, or with the three principles…" Alphonse trailed off, noticing that Rose was staring at him with a dumbfounded expression. You laughed at the sight.

"Uh... let me try…" you piped up with a small snicker. "A substance can only be created from the same type of substance. For example, if something's mostly water, you can only use it to make other things with the attributes of water."

"In other words, the basics of alchemy is the 'Equivalent Exchange'!" Edward joined in. "That means to obtain that something, something of equal value most be lost." You all turned your gazes back to Cornello, narrowing your eyes suspiciously.

"But that old guy is making too much out of too little… Alchemy-wise, that's breaking the law." Edward growled. Rose didn't seem to catch on to what you were implying.

"See! So why don't you four just have faith that it's a miracle already?!" Rose asked heatedly. None of you seemed to be paying her any attention at the moment. Your focus was currently locked onto the ring on Cornello's left hand.

"Big brother…do you think…?" Alphonse trailed off, not wanting to get his hopes up so easily. Ed instantly picked up on what his brother was referring to.

"Yeah, I do." Edward replied simply, causing Al's eyes to widen in surprise. Or at least, that's what it looked like he did. Edward hopped off of his suitcase and joined you by your side. "I think we've found it."

You shivered slightly at the husky tone of Edward's voice. The eldest Elric leaned forward, his warm breath brushing against your ear, sending another shiver down your spine. "Play along with me, [Name]." Edward instructed in a quiet tone.

"Hey lady, I'm starting to get real interested in this religion!" Edward called out to Rose, a wide grin appearing on his lips. You blinked in surprise, wondering what the heck Edward was doing. His words then replayed themselves in your head, reminding you of your dear friend's plan.

"Ah, yes! We'd LOVE to speak to his holiness. Do you think you could take us to see him?" you asked, clasping your hands together and smiling innocently at the religious girl before you.

Rose seemed overjoyed. "Oh my! So you're finally starting to believe!"

* * *

"Please, come this way." Cray instructed, motioning towards an opened door in the corridor of the church. You followed the man into the room, noticing that there were two other men inside, each holding a long pole with long white silk sashes attached.

"His holiness is very busy, so it's not easy to get an audience with him. You three are very lucky." One of the men stated with a smile.

"Uh, right." You gave the man an odd stare, wondering what was up with that odd looking smile of his.

"I'll try not to talk for too long." Edward hummed, trailing after Cray with the two of you at his heels. None of you noticed the man smirk, his right hand slowly reaching into his coat pocket to pull out a small pistol.

"Yes, let's end it right away." He agreed, whirling around and forcefully shoving the barrel of his weapon into Alphonse's left eye, startling the boy.

*BANG!*

All of your eyes widened in shock, a startled cry came from Rose from the sudden gunshot. Alphonse's metal head shot off of his body and fell to the ground with a 'clang'. It wasn't until his large metal body crashed to the ground till you suddenly snapped back to reality — but it was a tad bit too late for you.

The two men shoved their poles forward, crossing them together in front of Edward to prevent the elder Elric from jumping into action, earning a rather heated glare from him in the process.

"Ow!" You winced slightly from the harsh grip Cray had on your arm.

"Any sudden movement and the boy dies!" Cray threatened, roughly slamming the barrel of his gun into the side of your head. Did you hear right? Did he just call you a boy? But now wasn't the time to think about that!

"Ow! Jeez…" you grumbled bitterly, averting your gaze to the side so that you could shoot the man an annoyed glare.

"Tch…" Edward didn't seem too pleased with the current situation at hand. Rose whipped her head to face Cray, her face portraying her fear and anger.

"Brother Cray! What are you doing?!" she demanded.

"Rose, these are heathens that were trying to entrap their holiness. They are evil." you arched a brow, amazed how this man could lie so easily right through his teeth. Rose seemed to have a hard time believing that.

"What!? But his holiness would NEVER let you do this…let you…" Rose trailed off, her voice quivering slightly as her gaze fell onto Alphonse's armored head.

"He _did_ allow it!" Cray clarified with a smirk, pushing his pistol closer to your head.

"Does the definition of 'ow' no longer apply?" you growled, your right eye twitching in annoyance. You'll surely have a nasty bruise after this. However, Cray pretended not to hear you and continued with his 'evil rant'.

"The words of his holiness are the words of God. This _is _the will of God!" Cray shouted, moving to pull the trigger.

"Oh..." Alphonse's hand suddenly shot out and gripped Cray's pistol, roughly pulling it away so that it was no longer aimed at your head, earning a loud sigh of relief from you. Edward also seemed quite relieved that you were no longer in harm's way. "Guess there's some really bad gods out there."

Cray's jaw dropped, his eyes widening in fear when he realized that there was no one inside Al's suit of armor. "Wha...!?" the startled scream left the terrified man's lips.

Edward saw his opportunity and immediately took it. Grabbing the hand of the man on his left, Edward then grabbed the fabric of the man's shirt, easily flipping him over his shoulder before slamming his fist into the man's chest, knocking him unconscious.

"Whoa!" you quickly ducked, just narrowly avoiding Al's fist which slammed it into Cray's face. The other man on Ed's left screamed like a little school girl, quickly rushing towards the door so that he wouldn't have to face the same fate as his companions. He didn't seem to get too far though, considering that Edward threw Alphonse's head and knocking him unconscious.

"Strike!" Edward yelled triumphantly.

"My head!"

"Wh…wh…wh…" Turning your head slightly to gaze at the frantic girl beside you, you arched a brow, wondering what had her so riled up. "What is this?" Rose shrieked, gesturing wildly towards Alphonse.

"Ah…" a soft sigh escaped your lips. You rubbed the back of your head sheepishly.

"Nothing special…" Edward piped up, rapping his knuckle against Al's chest-plate.

"It's just what it looks like." Alphonse added, pointing inside himself.

"Th…there's nothing inside…it's empty…!?" Rose whimpered, her whole body quivering at the sight. She cast a nervous glance towards you, silently pleading that you would speak up and claim that this was all just some kind of sick joke. Catching the young woman's gaze, you averted yours elsewhere, causing her face to fall.

"You might say…" you began, your voice full of guilt. "…That this is what happens when you commit the greatest sin…when you trespass in God's domain. Just like Al. And Ed, too"

Rose's gaze softened. "Edward...? Alphonse...?"

Edward huffed quietly, turning his back on Rose so that she wouldn't see the pained expression on his face. "Well, let's just save that story for another time…" He looked at the unconscious men. "You saw God's true nature, didn't you?" Rose's face fell for a moment.

"No! It has to be some kind of mistake!" she cried in protest, still obviously in denial.

"Aww man…she's seen all this and she still believes in 'his phoniness'?" Edward complained with an irk mark, shooting the young woman a disproving glare.

"Well, it must be rather difficult to find out that your 'god' doesn't frown upon needless murder." you tried to reason with your friend, causing the young man to release a puff of air to try and calm himself down.

"Hm?" Edward's gaze caught sight of the bruise Cray had so graciously bestowed upon you. "Ah…" A frown appeared on the eldest Elric's lips. Reaching out with his right hand, Ed cupped your cheek and ran his thumb over the small injury. The moment his hand made contact with the bruise, you winced. Your action didn't seem to go unnoticed. Ed furrowed his brows, "That looks like it had hurt." He mumbled softly. Slowly allowing his hand to drift away from your face, Edward grasped your hand and turned to Rose, a determined look appearing in his eyes.

"Rose…" Edward called, catching the young woman's attention. "…Do you have the courage to face the truth?"

* * *

"Is this Cornello's room? The one that Rose told us about?" Alphonse questioned, gesturing towards the door before you.

"Let's see…" You took a step forward, reaching out for the brass door handle. "Ah! Your hand faltered when you noticed the door creaking open by itself. Edward stood by your side, narrowing his eyes slightly with how this scene screamed "trap". Releasing a small chuckle, Edward stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Hmph... I guess that means 'come in'." You all followed the eldest Elric into the room,y our eyes scanning our surroundings. There was no shed of light whatsoever. Pretty dark for a church that's always preaching about "light", don't cha think?

The sound of the door slamming shut behind us caught our attention. Glancing back for a brief moment, your attention was then directed towards the spotlight that suddenly flashed on and shone down before you, revealing Cornello as the elderly man descended down the stairs.

"Welcome to the church of the great Leto."

_**(To Be Continued on 'The City with a Sun God, Part 2')**_

* * *

"Stand up and walk. Keep going forward. At least you have strong legs to take you there." - Edward Elric


	6. Chapter 6

"Welcome to the church of the great Leto."

You didn't fall for his phony kindness. It was easy to tell that he was trying to deceive you. That fake smile plastered to his face was proof enough. Just how long does he plan on playing this little "charade" of his? Cornello's "smile" widened slightly.

"Did you come to hear me preach? Hmm?"

"Yeah, by all means teach us…" Edward replied, a smirk crossing his lips. "… Like about how you use your lame alchemy to deceive your followers!" Cornello pretended to act like he knew nothing.

"Well…I'm not sure what you mean. " he smiled, tilting his head to the side a bit to add more innocence to his little act. "Please don't confuse my miracles with alchemy. If you saw for yourself you'd believe…." Edward scoffed quietly at this guy's lame attempt for an excuse.

"Yeah, I've seen it all right." Edward retorted. "…And what I couldn't understand was how you're able to do a transmutation that goes against the laws."

"That's why I'm telling you it's _not_ alchemy…" Cornello began, raising his left hand to scratch his head.

"And then it came to me…" Edward cut the old man off, not bothering to pay him any attention. "The Philosopher's Stone." the words left Edward's lips along with his breath. "THAT'S how you do it, right?" Edward questioned. You all noticed the small hint of recognition on Cornello's face at the mention of the legendary stone. Bingo! A low chuckle sounded from Edward, his lips slowly curving into a smug smirk. "Like maybe…just maybe…it's that ring"

Cornello's left hand twitched, his smile instantly disappearing from his face completely. Silence filled the room as you awaited his answer.

"Heh... the government gets their money's worth out of you, don't they? I guess you saw through the whole thing." Cornello mused, his voice no longer sickly sweet, but instead, cold and bitter. "Correct!" You watched the old man hold up his left hand for you, revealing the red stoned ring. "The Philosopher's Stone, the legendary catalyst, the amplifier of all alchemical processes. With this, I can conjure at the minimum price, for the maximum result!"

You could feel Edward's body tense beside yoiu. Casting a worried glance in your friend's direction, you were caught by surprise when Edward's right hand shot out and grabbed your own, gripping it fiercely. His eyes burned brightly, his gaze completely locked on the small ring on Cornello's hand. A small bead of sweat slowly rolled down the side of his face in anticipation.

"How long I've searched for that…" Edward rasped; his tone of voice sent shivers down your spine.

"Hmph! What's with the jealous look in your eyes!? What do YOU want with the stone for? Honor? Money?" Cornello listed, a devious smirk forming on his face.

"What about you? What do you get out of founding this phony religion? If it's money you want you can make as much as you want with the stone." you cut in, narrowing your eyes. Cornello laughed and shook his head.

"It's not about the money. Well, I do want money, but I can get that with almost no effort…in the form of donations from my flock." Cornello mused, rubbing his chin. "What I really need is followers who will give their lives for me."

"That's just sick!" you hissed.

"Think about it! An invincible army of fanatics with no fear of death!" Cornello cried joyously. "Soon I'll have more than enough people! Just watch! Within a few years time this entire nation will be mine!" you all rolled your eyes as Cornello began to laugh like the madman he truly is.

"Well, fine, but I really don't care about that…" Edward sighed, lazily swinging his arms to the right as if to dismiss the whole subject itself. "Let's move on…"

"WHAT!?" Cornello cried in disbelief. You suppose he had expected you to be concerned with his whole "evil plot", in all honesty, you could really care less. "DON'T BELITTLE MY AMBITION BY SAYING YOU 'DON'T CARE'!" Cornello screeched, earning bemused looks from your little group. "YOU BETTER CARE! You're a member of the military, after all!"Edward arched a brow, lazily scratching the top of his head in a bored manner.

"You know, to be honest, I could care less about my country OR the military." Edward informed the man, allowing his right arm to fall limp by his side. "I'll be blunt! Give me the Philosopher's Stone!" Edward demanded, pointing to the ring on Cornello's hand. "If you do, I'll stay quiet about the scam you've been pulling on everybody."

"Hmph! You'd try to bargain with ME…?" Cornello seemed highly amused with Edward's little proposition. "My followers would never believe the words of an outsider like you! The people of this town LOVE me! They think my words come from GOD! No matter how much noise you make, no matter what evidence you have, they'll NEVER listen to you!" You rolled your eyes, appalled with this man's arrogance. "THOSE IDIOTS WILL BELIEVE ANYTHING I TELL THEM! I'VE COMEPLETLY FOOLED THEM!" Once more, insert evil laughter here.

"Wow... You _are_ smart!" Edward drawled, clapping his hands in a sarcastic manner. "Thanks for telling me how you do it." Edward ceased his applause, instantly turning serious. "You're right. Your followers would never listen to a word I say." Edward commented, casting Alphonse a brief glance as the suit of armor began to unlatch his chest-plate. "BUT!" Ed continued, a victorious smirk appearing on his lips as Alphonse kneeled on the ground and removed his chest-plate from his body, slamming it onto the ground and pulling back the small cloth inside himself to reveal Rose.

"But what about _her _words?" you finished for your friend, jabbing your thumb over your shoulder towards the shocked girl stored inside Alphonse's armor.

"R-Rose!?" Cornello's face instantly paled when he realized that she had been hiding in Alphonse's this whole time. "What is the meaning of this…?"

"Father! Is everything you said just now true!?" Rose cried hastily climbing out of the younger Elric's armor, earning a startled yelp from the young man. "Were you fooling us this whole time!? Your miracles aren't real? The power of God can't grant my wish?" Rose was on the verge of tears now, and it seemed Cornello was still stunned to silence. "YOU CAN'T BRING MY DARLING BACK AGAIN?!" **(A/N: Oh my glob guys, drama bomb~)**

Oh, so that's why.

Cornello appeared to be quite rattled for moment, but he quickly regained his composure, his arrogant smirk immediately returning to his lips. "Hmm... it's true that I'm not God's emissary…" Cornello began, watching you with those greedy eyes of his. Alphonse reached down and picked up his chest-plate, re-attaching the metal part back to his body again as Cornello began to speak. "…But with this stone, it may be possible to transmute living beings, which so many alchemists have tried and failed. Rose, I _will _resurrect him!"

"Rose, don't listen to him!" Alphonse interjected, noticing that Rose seemed to be debating with herself.

"He's _lying_, Rose! You just heard him yourself!" you added. Cornello extended his hand, motioning the young woman to join him by his side.

"Rose, be a good girl and come here."

"If you go, you can never come back!" Edward told Rose in a firm tone, glancing over his shoulder at the nervous girl.

Cornello's smirk widened at Rose's quivering form. "What's the matter? You belong with us. I'm the only one who can grant you your wish, isn't that so? Think about your darling. And come!" Cornello commanded.

"Rose…" You watched the young woman brush past you without so much as a glance back. A small sigh of disappointment left your lips at her choice. How could she be so naïve? Edward seemed to be very displeased with Rose, too. He released a small puff of air, rubbing his head with his right hand while shooting the girl a disproving stare. Alphonse seemed rather hurt by Rose's decision. You watched her make her way to the middle of the room before she came to a halt.

"I'm so, sorry you guys." Rose apologized in a meek tone, her back still turned to you. "But this is…" Rose hesitantly peered over her shoulder to catch a small glimpse of your reactions to her decision. "…the only choice I can make."

"You truly are a good child, Rose." Cornello praised the girl, his left arm extending towards a small lever embedded in the wall behind him. The sound of a metal door of some sort slamming open sounded throughout the room the moment Cornello pushed the lever down. Well, that can't be good. Curiously peering over your shoulder, you watched a chimera, the first half of its body a lion and the other a lizard, slowly emerge from the darkness, baring its fangs while growling ferociously.

"The Philosopher's Stone is truly wonderful…" Cornello began his rant yet again. "It can even create new life…like this." He chuckled, motioning towards the beast standing just a few feet away from us. "Have you ever seen a chimera?"

"…Is that supposed to scare us?" Edward asked me in a monotone, jabbing his thumb towards the chimera. Placing your hands on your hips, you scanned the chimera's form.

"I assume that's what he intended." you responded with a shrug of your shoulders. Edward rolled his eyes and scoffed quietly, clapping his hands together with an annoyed expression etched on his face.

"Looks like this one might be tough to play with empty handed. So…" the young prodigy kneeled down, slamming his hands onto the surface below. Sparks flew, blue light emitting from underneath Edward's hands as his transmutation activated. The wind created from Edward's work whipped around you, causing your clothes to flap. All eyes were turned to the eldest Elric as he slowly stood up, raising his left hand with him. A metal spear was being formed with Edward's alchemy, slowly rising out of the ground, following the young man's hand. Cornello seemed startled with how Edward had performed his alchemy.

"Ergh... You made a weapon from the floor without using a transmutation circle?!" Cornello cried, jerking back. "So you deserve the title of State Alchemist after all!" the man narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth in anger. "But that still won't be enough!"

The chimera rushed past Edward and headed straight for you, catching you all by surprise, especially you.

"Shit!" Edward cursed, swiftly whipping around to see the chimera throw itself at you. Before I even had time to react, Edward appeared in front of you faster than you could blink. "Dammit!" Edward's body tensed, preparing for the monster's assault. The chimera's claws slashed right through Edward's spear, easily slicing the metal weapon into pieces. "Oh no…" Edward hissed, his left hand immediately falling onto his leg where the chimera had managed to land a blow.

"Wa ha ha ha ha! Well?! How do you like the taste of claws that can cut through iron?" Cornello cackled.

Rose's hands flew up to cover her mouth, her eyes widening in terror. "Edward!"

Edward lowered his head, his bangs covering his eyes for a moment until he jerked his head back up to reveal his smug smirk. "... PSYCH!"

The claws that the chimera had used to slash Edward broke off, efficiently shutting Cornello up as the old man gaped at the sight in disbelief. Ed lifted his left leg, slamming it roughly into the chimera's chest, sending the animal barreling backwards.

"Sorry, these are custom made." Edward gloated proudly. You beamed, proud of your best friend, Winry. Turning towards you, Edward's face morphed into a look of concern. "You all right (Name)? You didn't get hurt did you?" Laughing softly at how Edward was so concerned, you shook your head 'no' to indicate that you hadn't been injured.

"Nah. I'm just fine." Edward seemed satisfied with answer, shooting you one of his famous grins.

"Wha-what's the matter!? If your claws won't work, then bite him to death!" Cornello hollered at his creation, gesturing wildly towards our little group.

The animal released a fierce roar, charging into battle once again.

"Tch!" Edward quickly shoved me behind him, holding up his right arm to block the chimera from sinking its teeth into his face. It worked. Instead, the chimera lodged its teeth into Ed's arm.

You watched the beat chew intently, his eyes widening in shock when it realized it couldn't taste Edward's flesh. Slowly raising his arm along with the chimera attached, Edward's eyes bore into the creature's.

"What's the matter, kitty? Taste bad?" Edward taunted, arching a brow in amusement. However, his amused look was quickly replaced with a look of seriousness. Without warning, Ed'wards left foot smashed into the chimera's jaw sending the creature flying back.

"Look at me, Rose." Edward yelled, grabbing the shredded fabric of his cloak that was covering his right arm. "This is what happens when you use alchemy on humans…" Your eyes reflected the same remorse. It was your fault that your two best friends became like that. It was your price.

"This is what happens to sinners who trespass in God's domain!" Alphonse lowered his head, memories instantly flooding back into his mind from your childhood mistake.

Cornello gulped, his eyes completely glued to Ed who was now ripping his shredded cloak off of his body. "Automail... full steel prosthetic " he mumbled to himself. "'Fullmetal' prosthetic so that's why…" Conrello snarled, finally putting the pieces together of how Ed had earned his alias.

Tossing his now useless article of clothing to the ground, Edward's gaze bore into Cornello's.

"... THE FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST!"

"Come down here and face me, you third-rate fraud." Edward challenged heatedly. "I'll show you there's no comparison between us!"

**(A/N: Debating whether or not to stop here... Decided to continue.) **

"...I see. Now I understand who you are..." Cornello muttered. "It was always a mystery to me why a mere brat had a fearsome alias like 'Fullmetal'..." An all-knowing smirk formed on his face as he studied Edward's metal arm and leg. "But now I know..." Cornello turned to Rose, who was still staring at Edward with wide eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

"Look at them, Rose! Those three dared to do the one thing forbidden to alchemists... The unspeakable crime of Human Transmutation!" he told Rose in a booming voice. "THEY'VE COMMITTED THE WORST POSSIBLE SIN!" Rose eyes widened even further, if that was even possible. She then recalled the legend that Edward had told her.

'_There once was a hero who made wings out of wax so he could fly... But when he got too close to the sun... To God... The wax melted and he crashed to the ground..._'

"...We were positive we could create life. We were positive that... we could bring our mother back..." you began the story. You looked up to the ceiling, a far away look on your face as you recalled your times spent with Trisha. "Our mother was so kind, the kindest person in the world... All we ever wanted was just to see our mother's smile again. Even if it meant breaking the laws of alchemy." a small sad smile crept up on your face. "That was the only reason we were studying alchemy, after all... But," Your smile disappeared as you turned your gaze back to the ground. "the resurrection failed. When it failed, Edward lost his left leg, 'taken' as my price. And Al's entire body was 'taken' as well, for mine and Edward's price." You choked. It was your fault. Your fault that your two best friends are the way they are. Why couldn't it have just taken something else from you? Why must it have to be them, the two people who were important to you?

Alphonse then stepped in, continuing the story where you had left off. He knew this was difficult for you to talk about.

"After I lost my body, I lost consciousness for a while..." Alphonse explained. "The next thing I saw when I opened my eyes was this armor body and a sea of blood... Even after the horrible injury of losing his left leg... My older brother exchanged his right arm for my soul... And put it in this suit of armor."

"Heh. The three of is tried to resurrect one person and this is what happened..." Edward said with a smirk on his face. He then looked up at Rose with dead seriousness in his eyes. "This is what it takes to raise the dead, Rose. **Are you ready to make that sacrifice?!**" Rose flinched and looked away from the young boy's piercing stare.

"Heh heh heh..." Cornello chuckled. "And you call yourself a State Alchemist! Don't make me laugh!"

"Shut up!" you yelled at him. "What about you? Without the stone, you can't do anything, you ultra third rate!"

"I see, I see... So _that's_ why you want the Philosopher's stone." Cornello remarked . "Good idea. If you used _this_, you might be able to transmute humans for _real_, eh?" He chuckled again.

"Don't get me wrong, baldy! I just want to restore my friends' bodies back!" you spat at him. "What I want most is for my friends to go back to way they were before!"

"Besides, we still don't know if it'll even be able to do _that_!" Edward added.

"Father, I'll ask you again." Alphonse warned, extending his hand out. "Give us the stone before you get hurt."

"If I were you, I would just give it to us. It's better than getting into a fight, you know." you said.

"Heh heh... You fools are the ones who came too close to God and fell to Earth..." Cornello placed his cane onto his left hand. A flash of red light, along with some red sparks, began to emit from the ring. When the light and sparks ceased, in Cornello's hand now lay a massive machine gun. He aimed it at the three of you. "If that's the case, then this time I'll make sure...  
TO SEND YOU TO GOD PERMANENTLY!" He then fired, laughing evilly like the true villain he is.

Quickly, you clapped your hands and slammed it to the ground, creating a stone wall that protected you and the Elric brothers from the oncoming bullets. As the smoke cleared, you smirked up at the shocked man.

"Sorry, God doesn't like us very much... Even if we went, He'd probably chase us away!" you yelled.

"Tch!" Cornello then noticed Alphonse trying to take Rose away. "Why you...!" He fired at him, ignoring the fact that he might hit the girl. The bullets harmlessly bounced off of Alphonse's armor, not harming him and the screaming Rose.

"(Name)! Al! Let's get out of here!" Edward called out. The three of you raced to the only door, the only exit, in the room.

"Fool! The exit is rigged! Only I can open it from here!" Cornello shouted after you.

"Oh, is that so!?" You made a detour for the wall nearest to the door. Edward clapped his hands and touched the wall. He transmuted the stone of the wall to form a large door.

"WHAAAT?!" Cornello cried in disbelief.

"If there's no door, then I'll make one!" You slammed the door open, startling some of the guards that were outside of the room, next to the alchemy made door. The three of you made a run for it.

"Don't just stand there! Go after them!" Cornello yelled at the nearby guards. "They're pagans who want to destroy our religion! Get them! Hurry!" The guards rushed after you, grabbing and taking out their weapons as they ran. The three of you continued to run down the hall until you reached the end, where several guards were waiting for you..

"There they are!" one cried out.

"Hey you! Stop!" Really, did they think that you were going to if they just told you?

"Hey, kiddos. What are two little boys going to do with their bare hands?" Okay, that's it! You've had enough of people calling you a boy!

"I'm NOT a boy!" you screamed at the men, transforming you metal covered arm into a clawed hand as Edward transformed his auto-mail into a sword. You lunged at the screaming guards, resulting into getting your hood pulled back by the wind, showing off your (h/l) (h/c) and revealing your face.

"A girl?!" one guard exclaimed.

"YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT?!"

Alphonse, taking this as a chance, kicked the rest of guards, knocking them out. You kept on running down the halls, looking for a way out of the cathedral. Just then, you passed by a huge room that seemed to catch Edward's attention.

"Huh? What's this?" he asked Rose.

"The broadcasting room. This is where Father Cornello delivers his sermons over the radio..." Rose explained. Edward placed a hand on his chin thoughtfully.

****"Oh really..." he chuckled, a devious look on his face.

"Uh-oh. He's got a _bad_ idea..." you muttered to yourself.**  
**

* * *

Edward sat on the desk while looked outside, watching the sun slowly set. Alphonse was outside with Rose, getting ready to expose Mr. Phony Cornello's p;an once and for all. The stage was set. Now all you needed was the fraud to enter the room to proceed. You glanced over at your friend, a worried look on your face. "You think it's going to work?" you asked Edward. He just scoffed.

"Of course; he isn't too bright." You laughed, your worries starting to ebb away.

"I trust you, got that?" you told him. He flashed you a grin but his face turned serious when he heard footsteps getting closer.

"Get ready, (Name)." he told you. You nodded and flipped the switch to 'on', just as Cornello entered the room, wheezing.

"There you are, you inferno brats!" he paused. "Wait, where's your other companion?"

"Right here." you growled, annoyed. Cornello blinked, astonished to find that you are actually a girl. But he remembered what he was about to do and averted his mood back to anger.

"You punks! Prepare to die!" Cornello yelled at the two of you.

"Just give up, will you?" said Edward, releasing a puff of air. "New of your trickery will spread through out the town in no time anyway."

"Shut up! Everyone within the church is under my direct control!" Cornello yelled. "They'd never believe a stupid follower is she contradicted me!"

"My, my. I feel sorry for those poor followers of yours." you said, joining in the conversation.

"Followers are just pawns to use for war! I don't have time to be sorry for mere pawns!" A crazed look was now on his face while a bored one was on yours and Edward's. "If I ask them to, they'll die happy and fulfilled, believing that they did it for god! I'll mass-produce them! _Limitless_ fanatics, from the masses of idiots who can't even tell alchemy from miracles! Did you think you could stop my plans so easily!? YOU UNDERESTIMATED THE POWER OF BLIND FAITH!" Cornello laughed evilly. You and Edward exchanged looks and then burst into laughter as well, startling Cornello.

"What so funny!?" he demanded as the two of you ceased your laughter.

"That's why I keep saying you're a third-rate, baldy." Edward said, chuckling.

"You little brat! How dare you insult me!" Cornello growled. You threw the switch that was in your hands to Edward, which he showed it to Cornello.

"Know what this is?" Cornello stared at the switch that had been turned to 'on' in Edward's hand. He then looked down and saw that, on the ground, there was a mike facing towards him. He slowly looked back up and his jaw dropped as realization smacked him in the face.

"You... You couldn't have... YOU LITTLE RATS!" Cornello screamed. "How long has that switch been on?!"

"From the very beginning." Edward answered him.

"You just exposed your entire plan. 3" you added.

"Wha.. Wha... WHAT?!" He started to shake with anger. "You dumb brats..." Cornello put his left hand on his cane and, once again, started transforming it. "I'm going to kill y-"

"Too slow!" You charged forward, your metals claws slicing the still transforming gun in half. "Didn't we tell you? There's no comparison between us." you told him with a smirk.

"I won't... I won't give up..." Cornello gritted his teeth. "AS LONG AS I HAVE THIS STONE I CAN MAKE MIRACLES AGAIN AND AGAIN!" He placed his hand on the now useless gun. The ring glowed red, indicating that the gun was being transformed.

"Tch...!" You moved away from the man and prepared yourself for his next attack. But none came when the red light faded, because Cornello's hand had morphed into one with the gun. It was gruesome to look at. He screamed.

"GAAAGGGHH! MY ARM! MY ARM!" Cornello screamed, clutching his disfigured arm.

"Wh..." You couldn't believe it. How is it possible? Why? Why did a rebound happen? You looked over at Edward for some explanation, but the boy was shocked as you were, staring at the man with his mouth wide open.

"AGGGHH! IT HURTS! AAGGGHHH!" Cornello continued to scream.

"Shut UP!" Edward bashed his head against Cornello's, cutting off his scream and also making his nose bleed. "It was just a rebound! Don't make a big deal over one or two arms!" Edward yelled at the man who was clutching his bloody nose.  
"Ed! What about the stone!?" you asked him desperately. "The Philosopher's Stone?!" Then you saw it. The small red stone separated from the ring with a snap and rolled onto ground, crumbling into dust that soon got blown away by the wind.

"It...broke?" You turned to Edward. "What's going on, Ed!? The Philosopher's Stone is supposed to be a perfect material! How can it break?!" you demanded.

"It's a fake..." Edward whispered. You went slack-jawed.

"Are you telling me... that we came all the way here... and thought that we could restore you guys... and it turns out to be a _fake_?!" You directed your gaze at the trembling man. "Did you know anything about this?" You asked in a deadly voice.

"I-I don't know anything! I don't know! I haven't heard about this before!" Cornello screamed. "P-p-please spare me! I'm begging you! I'm sorry! If the Stone's gone, I can't do anything. Please spare me..." he begged. Edward slowly stood up.

"Hey... Old man..."

"Uh... Y-yes!?"

"First you lied to the townspeople, then you tried to kill us... and now, after all the trouble you put me through, you're telling me the stone was _fake_?" Edward clapped his hands together and touched the ground. A fist materialized from the ground, along with a body and a head, forming into the shape of a gigantic statue of Leto, the church falling apart as it was made. "This better be some kind of joke!" The statue looked down at the trembling Cornello, looming over him.

Feel the iron blow of God's wrath!"

The statue slammed down its fist right in front of Cornello, making him pass out from fright.

* * *

"It was a _fake_?" Alphonse asked, disappointment etched into his voice. The three of you were sitting down in the ruins of the church. Edward had just finished telling his younger brother what had just happened.

"Yeah. It was all a waste of time." Edward replied, sighing.

"And here I finally thought I could restore you guys..." you muttered, dejected.

"Oh well, I guess we'll look somewhere else..." Edward stood up and stretched, you and Alphonse following in suit. Just as you were about to leave, a quiet voice stopped you in your tracks.

"No..." You turned around to see Rose, kneeling on the ground, a look of disbelief adorning her face. "There must some mistake... I mean... They told me he would come back to life..."

"Give it up, Rose. It could never have..."

"What did you do to me...?" Tears streaked down the the girl's beautiful face. "What do I _do_? What am I supposed to believe in now!?" Rose sobbed. "Are _you_ going to tell me? Well, are you?"

"...You need to figure that out on your own." Edward walked forward, passing by the crying girl while you and Alphonse followed after him. "Stand up and walk. Keep going forward. At least you have strong legs to take you there." he told her as he passed by the girl. Rose was silent, still kneeling on the ground while tears streamed down her face as the three of you walked down the front steps in front of the church. You were done here in this city. There was nothing left.

It was time to continue on your journey.

* * *

"A sin doesn't end with tears, you have to suffer and carry the burden forever."  
-Again by YUI

**(A/N: To those who don't understand on what you, the reader, lost for the Equivalent Exhange thingy, here's a simple explanation I came up with for you to understand: **  
Price

Al's body = Edward and Reader's

Edward's leg = Reader

Edward's arm = Al's soul**.**  
**If you still have questions about it, ask away~)**


	7. Chapter 7

The title says it all. I thought this chapter might help how you picture yourself. The picture on your right is you (yes, I drew it myself). I didn't draw your eyes cause I don't know how you look like in real life (no duh). Also, you wear a locket that looks like this: link.

Your right arm has a metal covering that goes up to your fingers. Basically it's like Edward's but you can take off the covering whenever you want and still have an arm, flesh and all. It's like wearing an armor for your arm. You also use it as a weapon by turning it into claws, sharpening the tips of your fingers by using alchemy.

Your alchemy powers: You specialize in water. You can control water by attracting the moisture. Not only can you control water but the moisture in the atmosphere so your defense capabilities are extremely well developed As for a offensive area, think on the same line as the defence. Your greatest attack is summoning a giant tidal wave to completely obliterate the enemies in a 2 mile area. Also you can use the water in the human body to your own gain. If don't like your alchemy skill, I'm sorry! Oh, and you can transmute stuff, too.

Your price: Well, Edward lost Alphonse, his last family member, to bring back Trisha, a family member. He also lost a leg, something he relied to stand on (figuratively meant). So basically, Edward's leg and Alphonse's body was your price. You didn't care what happens to you, as long as nothing terrible happens them. The two boys meant that much to you, and you had felt the same way with Trisha. So, Truth took away Edward's leg and Alphonse's body from you (and Edward). Edward's arm was taken to bring Alphonse's soul back. "In order to obtain something, something of _equal value_ must be lost." **that's** equivalent exchange.

And some information that will help you along the way:

- (h/l) means hair length.

- (h/c) means hair color.

- (e/c) means eye color.

- (Name) means your name.

Hope this helped!

~Vanilla Girl


	8. Chapter 8

You stared out the window of the train as it chugged on to your next destination, the blurry landscape flashing by. You were continuing your journey with the Elric brothers to find the Philosopher's stone, searching throughout the Eastern border of Amestris, looking for any information about it. The three of you were going to the Youswell Coal Mines, 'The Town on the Eastern Border', so you could take the next train to East City. But by the time you get there, it would seem you would have to find a place to stay in for the night.

You tore your gaze from the window and looked around the empty train.

"...No one's on board." you remarked to Edward and Alphonse.

"I heard the rumors, but I didn't think it was _this_ bad..." Edward said, sitting right next to you, folding up a map. "Guess this isn't exactly tourist country."

"It feels like the whole train was reserved for us, don't you think?" said Alphonse, sitting right across from you, occupying the whole seat because of his big, bulky body.

"But it's so empty..." you sighed, folding your arms across your chest. "I feel like someone is going to jump out anytime soon and attack us or something..."

"Aw, is wittle (Name) scwared~?" Edward teased you in a baby voice, making you flush.

"Am not! It's just... It's just that..." Your face grew redder as you stuttered, failing to come up with an excuse to prove that you weren't frightened (which you really weren't). Edward laughed at your reaction.

"Don't worry. If anything happens, I'll protect you!" he said, pounding a fist on his chest. You blinked owlishly for a moment, staring at the blonde boy. Edward realized what he said. He blushed beet red. "Er, um. What I meant is that... Al and I will protect you! We both will!" This time, it was your turn to laugh. His face turned redder, if that was possible. "Don't laugh!" he snapped at you, crossing his arms and pouting.

"Hahaha, sorry, sorry." your laughter ceased and you gave him a smile. "Thanks, Ed." you said. Edward blinked and then returned the smile, a small blush still evident on his cheeks. Alphonse looked at the two of you. He'd be smiling to himself if he still had his body, seeing how cute you two were acting.

"Ah, the spring time of life." Alphonse mumbled, giggling.

"Hm? Did you say something, Al?" Edward asked his brother. Alphonse just shook his head in response.

"Nothing, nothing." He then looked out the window, watching the sun as it set lower. Something caught his eyes.

"Brother, (Name), look! I see it! The Youswell Coal Mines!"

* * *

"So this is where we get coal..." you commented as you looked around. You were expecting a town full of people, but the place was deserted. Well, there were a few people around, but they were all either sitting around doing nothing or moving extremely slow, making the place seem dead.

"'The Wilde Frontier,' eh? I always thought a place like this would be a little more lively." mumbled Edward next to you, standing to your right.

"Everyone seems a little tired..." Alphonse remarked.

*BONK*

"Oops! Sorry 'bout that." a voice apologized.

You turned to see Edward on the ground, clutching his head in pain. A young boy stood next him, holding a square wooden pole over his shoulder. Realizing that your friend got hit in the head, you leaned over, hands on your knees.

"You alright, Ed?" you asked.

"Yeah." he groaned, rubbing his head. Edward looked up at the boy, glaring. "That hurt, you little-"

"Hey! You're from out of town, right?" the boy cut in. "On a trip?" he asked, leaning closer to Edward.

"Uh..."

"Where you from?" The boy bombarded Edward with questions while you and Alphonse stood back a bit, watching.

"Well..."

"Need a meal?"

"Hold on..."

"A place to stay?"

"Who are you?" Edward asked bluntly. But the boy just ignores Edward's question as he stood up.

"Dad! We got customers!" the boy yelled to a man with mining cap and a pole over his shoulder .

"LISTEN WHEN PEOPLE TALK TO YOU!" Edward shouted at him. But the boy completely ignores him.

"Huh? What's that, Khayal?" the man asked.

"Customers!" The boy, Khayal, hollered, waving his hand. "A piggy bank!"

"What do you mean 'piggy bank'?!" Edward demanded, annoyed about the little name they gave him.

"You don't say!" the man said, taking off his hat and showing you his grinning face

* * *

"Sorry about the dust." Halling, the innkeeper said to the three of you. "The mines don't pay very much. So we run this inn to get by."

"What're you talkin' 'bout, chief!?" a man with a burly beard called out to him. "_Your _problem is, you're a soft touch! Always giving what you make to the poor!" he laughed.

"That's why your old lady's always crying!" another man added, laughing along with the burly bearded man.

"Keep it down, you!" Halling shouted, but not really angry at the group of men. "If you got a problem with how I spend my money, then hurry up and pay me what you owe for the booze!" More laughter erupted from the group of men. You smiled at the scene before you. It was nice how they all got along well. Who knew this place could be so lively despite how the town is...

"So there's three of you... One night's stay and three meals each?" Halling's wife asked.

"How much?" asked Edward.

"What... Afraid you can't afford it?" Halling said with a smirk.

"Don't worry, I brought enough." Edward told him confidently.

"Three-hundred thousand." Hallings said, holding up three fingers. Edward fell out of his chair from shock while you went slack-jawed.

"**_Three-hundred thousand?!_**" Edward yells. "What a rip off!"

"I _said_ you might not be able to afford it." Hallings told him. "We don't get too many tourists, so when they come we try to make sure they leave all their money."

Wow.

"You gotta be kidding me! We'll go somewhere else!" Edward stood up to leave but the innkeeper clutched his head, stopping him.

"There's no escape, piggy bank!" Hallings hissed.

"Forget about it. The price's are the same everywhere else." Khayal added. The three of you gathered around in a circle as Edward took out his wallet, looking through the contents of it.

"We really don't have enough..." he muttered. "I guess the only thing we can do is use alchemy to turn pebbles into gold!" Edward whispered. You smacked him in the head for that.

"You know it's forbidden by the State Alchemy laws to make gold!" you scolded him in a whisper.

"If we don't get caught... we won't get caught." Edward grinned at his plan.

"Brother, you're evil!" Alphonse whispered. You sighed and glanced to your side, finding Khayal there. You tugged on Edward's red coat to get his attention. When he looked at you, you pointed at the boy who was listening to your conversation. The three of you stared at him.

"DAD! THIS GUY'S AN ALCHEMIST!" Khayal shouted to his father.

* * *

Edward clapped his hands and placed it on the table where a broken pickaxe lay. People gathered around to watch, Khayal being right up at the front. Sparks flew, blue light emitting from underneath Edward's hands as his transmutation activated. The wind created from Edward's work whipped around you, causing your clothes to flap. You pulled Khayal back a little away from the table to make sure he doesn't get hurt. When the transmutation ended, there lay the pickaxe, good as new. The crowd oohed and aahed, amazed by the work done by the young prodigy. Edward struck a victory pose on the table, a fan open in his hand.

"It looks brand new!" a miner commented, holding the pickaxe in the air while examining it.

"Are there any other things you want fixed?" asked Edward, looking around the crowd.

"Can you fix this one?" The hostess walked up to the table, a broken vase in her hands. "I treasure it, but I accidentally broke it." she explained.

"What, you haven't thrown it away yet?" said Hallings.

"You rarely buy things like this for me, so..." replied the hostess as she set the broken vase on the table.

"Here, let me." you stepped in before Edward could start. You clapped your own hands and placed it over the vase, creating a flash of blue light and some sparks. When it faded, it revealed the vase back to its original shape, intact.

"I'm so glad!" the hostess cried joyfully, picking up the vase and hugging it.

"That's great, Hostess!" a man called out to the lady.

"This is great! Our first customers in ages, and they're _alchemists_!" Hallings laughed as he came up to you with a plate of food that Edward ordered. "I used to dabble a little bit myself," he told you. "But I didn't really have the talent, so I gave up studying." He grinned at the three of you. "I'll give you a special alchemist's discount. Plus the amount I owe you for fixing the vase and pickaxe."

"Sounds good!" Edward said happily.

"Thank you very much!" you piped in, smiling pleasantly at the man.

"All together, that's a 50% discount! One hundred-fifty thousand!"

"That's still a lot!" protested Edward as the plate of food was placed in front of him. Hallings just laughed at his outrage.

"By the way, I didn't catch your name." Hallings mused, placing a hand on his chin. Edward picked up his silver wares, ready to dig into his food.

"Oh yeah...?" Edward queried. "Edward Elric." he told the man.

Just as he was about to start eating, Hallings swiped the plate away from him, making him stab the table with the fork and knife. The three of you looked up at Hallings and gave him a quizzical look, but the man was still smiling at you three like everything was perfectly fine.

"So you're Elric the alchemist..." Hallings said, the friendly smile still on his face. "The State Alchemist?" he asked.

"... Well, sort of..." Edward replied, reaching for his cup of coffee. But Hallings took that away as well, swiping it away from him before he could even grab it. "Hey, what's the big deal?!" Edward demanded. But the inside of the pub had suddenly become quiet. All the miners were looking at the three of you, their eyes narrowed and scowls on their faces.

"GET LOST!" they yelled as they kicked the three of you out of the inn. Literally. You landed on your butt, skidding on the ground a bit. Ouch.

"Hey! We're paying customers!" Edward argues, on his hands and knees.

"_Bleah!_ We don't have food or lodgings for dogs of the military!" Hallings spat at him.

"Um, we're civilians! We're not 'state' anything!" You and Alphonse called out innocently, hands raised in the air.

"Oh, that's fine then! Come on in!" Hallings said back to his cheerfulness, beckoning you to come in.

"YOU TRAITORS!" Edward screamed at the two of you as you went inside. You turned around and gave the blonde boy an apologetic smile before closing the door on him. The last thing you saw from Edward crying anime tears as he reached out his hand for you.

**(A/N: The reason why I didn't make you a State Alchemist is because I wanted to do this to Edward. Suffer, Edward! SUFFER! Ahahahaha! ... No, I'm just kidding about the suffering part. Love you, Edward~ XD)**

"Man, just when I thought we had a paying guest..." a miner muttered bitterly as you and all the other miners went back to their seats.

"What a let down..." You took your seat next to Alphonse at a table, Khayal seated right next to you.

"State Alchemists aren't too popular here, are they?" questions Alphonse

"Of course. Everyone around here hates soldiers." Khayal informed the two of you. "This town's under the authority of Lieutenant Yoki, but all he cares about is making money."

"I hear he spends it all on bribes to his superiors back in Central City." a man with a cigarette in his mouth told you.

"He even bought his way to being a Lieutenant." a man with a buzz cut added.

"How sly..." you mumbled, utter disgust in your voice.

"Used to be he just owned the coal mines, but he got greedy about movin' on up." an elderly looking man said, lighting up his pipe.

"Huh? So this place is..." Alphonse quired.

"Yup, this is Yoki's private property."

"That rat owns everything in this town! We don't get paid enough to get by!" a different man shouted his outrage. "Even if we complain to someone higher up on the chain, Yoki bribes them all, so _they_ won't help!"

"See? It sucks, huh?" Khayal huffed as he jerked his thumb at what the man said. You sighed and rubbed your forehead. This town was worse than it looked! Who knew something like this was happening?

"And then there's the State Alchemists." said Hallings as he set two trays of food down in front of you and Alphonse. The trays consisted of a mug of coffee and one sandwich, which you eagerly grabbed for. "'Alchemists work for the people.'" Hallings continued as you hungrily took a bite out of your sandwich and chewed, enjoying the flavor. "That's the slogan of the alchemists... The source of their pride. I know they get a lot in exchange... But I can't forgive people who sell their souls to the military state."

* * *

_"Kid, I know you can't understand but... The mines are our homes... And our graves." _- Hallings


	9. Chapter 9

_*Grrowwwlll*_

"I'm hungry..." Edward complained, his stomach giving another rumble. "Damn you, Al... Damn you, (Name)... Have you both lost your humanity?!" he sobbed.

"Now who are you saying that they lost their humanity? Especially after we got some food for you!" Edward whipped around to see you, hands on your hips with your hood down (it was starting to get in the way), and Alphonse with a tray of food. Alphonse knelt down next his brother and handed the tray to him.

"I snuck out with the food they gave me." Alphonse explained. Edward teared up at this.

"Dear brother!" Edward cried as he tackled Alphonse into a hug, tears of gratitude pouring down from his eyes.

"_Sheesh_, you're so predictable." Alphonse sighed as you laughed softly at the sight.

"Call yourself lucky that your brother got you some food after they kicked you out." you huffed, mouth forming into a small, cute pout. "Turns out everybody here hates the soldiers because this town is under the authority of Lieutenant Yoki. He lowered the miners' salaries while raising their taxes. And while at that, he uses the money to bribe the higher ups in the military."

"_Hmm_... These corrupt official types are everywhere, huh?" Edward muttered after hearing your explanation, picking up his food.

"No kidding." was your reply as you sat down next to him, Alphonse joining you.

"I guess, thanks to this guy, they don't even get enough food supplies." said Alphonse.

"... I see." Edward mused, staring at the sandwich he was about to take a bite out of. "That Lieutenant Yoki's causing us a lot of trouble. I mean, military personnel like us aren't very popular to begin with." he fumed. "When I became State Alchemist I knew I'd get a certain amount of flack... But I never knew they would hate me so much." You sighed and stood up.

"Well Edward, enjoy your dinner. I'm heading back inside." you told your friend as you turned around to leave.

"So soon?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, it's starting get a bit chilly." you replied as you walked away, waving a little goodbye to the Elric brothers. As you made your way back to the inn, you started to think about what Edward had said, about being hated because he works for the military. Maybe... You should get certified as a State Alchemist as well... You don't want Edward to carry all the burden alone...

Really, that foolish boy, taking all the blame by himself when there's someone right next to him who should be taking at least half of it. Not to mention that they want to, because that way, they'd be carrying the burden together.

Besides, if you become a State Alchemist, you might be able to find out who your parents are. The Central Library hold birth and death certificates but the only way to get in is to be a State Alchemist or be with one. You had told the Elric brothers about the locket but also told them they don't need to worry about it. Those two should be more focused on searching the Philosopher's Stone. This is something that _you_ must do.

The locket, what's inside it? There has to be something inside... But you've been trying to find the key to it for three years, with no prevail. Not even a little clue. There must be a key... right? Or else, it wouldn't be locked. Colonel Mustang gave it to you for a reason, but for what? You suddenly stopped in your tracks, right in front of the entrance to the inn.

Wait a minute.

Colonel Mustang...

Could it be he knows something about it? Well, if he didn't, he wouldn't have given it to you in the first place.

"I'm so stupid..." you muttered to yourself. Your clue was right under your nose all along! You could have just asked him straight out! But when he gave it to you, he had said that he didn't know that much about it. Did he meant that he at least knew a little about it?

Aaagh! So confusing!

Well, whatever. You'll just ask him when you see him again, whenever that may be...

"Hey, you! Out of the way! We're coming in!" someone yelled at you, startling you out of your thoughts.

"Ah! Sorry!" You hastily moved out of the way and went to stand beside Khayal, making way for three blue-uniformed men. Two burly looking men were following a skinny black haired man in the middle who had a handkerchief to his mouth. You realized that these men work for the military and the one in the middle is Lieutenant Yoki, the greedy little bastard. You narrowed your eyes and glared at them, wondering what they are here for.

"Place looks filthy as usual, Halling." Yoki commented pompously, handkerchief still over his mouth. You clenched your fist, trying to control your anger and the urge to lash out and attack him. Just whose fault is it that the town is like this anyway?!

"It's you, First Lieutenant. Welcome to this filthy place." Halling just says to him nonchalantly. "What brings you to a shabby place like this?"

"Nice greeting." Yoki sarcastically replies. He put down his handkerchief and pointed at Halling. "I hear you're late on your taxes. I know you're not the only deadbeat in this town, but don't expect me to ignore you." he informed Halling in his pompous tone.

"I'm very sorry, but we're barely getting by as it is..." Halling says right back. He shouldn't even be apologizing! Yoki looked around the inn, turning his head left and right, his eyes landing on the bottles of liquor that were on the tables.

"_Hmph_, and yet, there is more than enough to enjoy alcohol..." Yoki mutters. "... I guess that means I can lower your salary a bit more?"

His statement caused an uproar around the room.

"Wha-!?"

"Why you...!" Khayal next to you snarled, grabbing a dirty rag nearby and preparing to throw it at the dirty little bastard. But you stopped him just in time, getting a quizzical look from the young boy. You didn't say anything to him and just stalked up to Lieutenant Yoki, a hostile aura surrounding you as you glowered at the man.

"Look here, you damn bastard! Just what kind of person are you to lower their salaries when they clearly don't have enough to even get by!? And even worse, you raise their taxes so you could use it for your own good! Using it for bribery!" you ranted. "And now you're planning to lower their salaries even further!" You grabbed his collar and pulled on it. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO DO SUCH A THING!" you screamed into his face.

That earned you a backhanded slap across your face.

You landed on the floor with a loud thud, making everyone in the room gasp at the sudden action. You immediately flipped onto your back, sitting up a bit as you used your elbows for support, glaring at the man who looked down at you, a snotty look on his face.

"I won't hold back just because you're a little girl." oh, a greedy little bastard _and _a sexist pig, isn't he? Yoki snapped his fingers and one of his lower-ranked officer drew out his sword from its sheath. Your eyes widened at what the officer was about to do.

"Let this be a warning."

The man swung his sword down and you shield your face with your arms as you clenched your eyes shut. You waited for the impact of the sword but none came. You slowly opened one eye and mentally gave a sigh of relief when you saw that Edward had appeared in front of you, blocking the sword from cutting you open with his automail arm. The blade breaks into two from the collision with a snap.

"What?! It broke...?!" the officer exclaims, shocked.

"Wh... Where did this kid come from!?" Yoki yells as Alphonse walked into the scene, startling the other officer. "Who is this ruffian!?"

"Just a kid passing through." Edward simply answers, taking a sip from his cup of coffee.

"This is none of your business! Stay out!" Yoki continued to yell, annoyed.

"Well, I heard the Lieutenant was gonna be here..." Edward reached into his pocket and took out his pocket watch, showing it to Yoki with a grin. "... So I decided to say hello."

"... Eh? What's this?" Yoki questions as he leaned down to inspect the watch. You stood up and wiped the dust off as Yoki realizes what the watch is.

"Lieutenant, who_ is_ this brat...?" his lackey asks him, pointing to Edward. Yoki hits him on the head. "Ow."

"You idiot!" Yoki yelled at him. "Don't you know what a State Alchemist is? They work directly for the President!" he whispered.

"You're serious? Not _that_ little runt!?" Edward's eyebrow twitched at the word 'runt'.

"This is my chance..." Yoki said.

"Huh?" Yoki's lackey questions.

"If I make an impression here, I might be able to make some connections at Central!"

"_Wow_, you're really on top of things, Lieutenant!" Yoki slithered his way over to Edward, rubbing his hands together and a sly little smile on his face.

"I'm sorry if my subordinates were impolite." Yoki said to him. "My name is Yoki, and I'm in charge of this town."

You narrowed your eyes in slight annoyance. Still going to try and buy his way up, huh?

"It must be fate that we meet here!" Yoki continues. "There's no need for you to stay in this pig-pen! Even though we're far from the city, we have some _lovely_ rooms back at my house!"

"Dirty and evil." Khayal muttered. You grinned at the comment.

"Well, I guess that would be all right..." said Edward, smiling kindly. "... Because the owner here is too _cheap_ to let me stay." That little statement got Halling pissed, making him scowl.

You shot Edward a quizzical look. Is he planning on doing something? You caught Edward's eye and he walked over to you. He leaned forward close to your ear and whispered, "Stay here, (Name)." You just stared at him, but nodded in response. He pulled back and shot you one of his famous grins. You watched him go, the three officers following after him. Yoki turned around and pointed a finger, sweeping it across the room and landing on everyone.

"Listen here, you lowlifes." Yoki shouted. "I'm going to make you pay every penny of the taxes you owe me! I'll be back!" With that declaration, he slammed the door close behind him.

"AAGGGH! That makes me so _MAD_!" Khayal screams, throwing his head back.

"_Um_... Mad at who?" Alphonse asks innocently.

"BOTH OF THEM!" all the miners responded. Halling walked up to you and placed his hand on your shoulder. You looked up at the man and saw that he was grinning down at you.

"Hey, kid, thanks for what you did there, but you didn't have to do that." Halling told you. You just shook your head.

"No, that guy was pissing me off. All the things I yelled into his face was just the truth." you replied. "And besides, he shouldn't have been treating you like that. You deserve better than him." You grinned back at Halling, in which making him laugh. He patted your back, almost causing you stumble from the force he was using.

You really wished you could do something for this town, or at least, do something about Lieutenant Yoki. He's the cause to everyone's suffering. If only there was something you could do.

If only...

* * *

You gazed at the burnt remains of the inn before you. Everything had been burnt to the ground, leaving behind nothing but black and the putrid smell of charcoal. You had aided the townspeople in putting the fire out, using your water alchemy as they brought buckets after buckets of water for the fire. Once extinguished, all they could do was to stare at the smoke and the remains the fire had left them.

"How awful..." someone muttered amongst the crowd.

It truly was. The sight before you truly was awful. Halling's wife was kneeled onto the ground in front of the remains, hugging the slightly burnt signpost of the inn as she wept. Her husband stood over her, soon kneeling next to her and embracing her.

"Last night I saw some of Yoki's underlings hanging out around the inn..."

"Damn it... What a dirty thing to do..." You couldn't agree more.

"...The reason dad tried to learn alchemy was because he wanted to save this town." Khayal told you. The young boy was sitting on the ground, his clothes having smudges of soot here and there, a depressed look on his face. Khayal looked up at Edward, who had his hands in his pockets. "Hey, Ed. You're good enough to create gold, right?" Edward just glanced towards Khayal with an expressionless face. "Can't you just whip up some gold to help my dad...and this town...!?" Khayal reasoned. But Edward just slowly closes his eyes shut as he listens.

"No." he finally answered coldly.

"Come on..." Khayal begged. "It's not like it's gonna cost you anything!" Edward, yet again, said nothing, his eyes still closed like he was in deep thought.

"The foundation of alchemy is 'equivalent exchange.'" he said in the same cold voice. "Why should I give you free money?"

You stared at your best friend, eyes wide with shock. How could he say such a thing? Can't he see that the town is suffering because of Yoki's greediness?!

"Why you..." Khayal growled. He grabbed the front of Edward's trademark coat. "YOU SCUMBAG! YOU CALL YOURSELF AN ALCHEMIST?!" Khayal yelled angrily at Edward, who didn't even give a sign of any emotion. You flinched at this.

Khayal glowered at Edward, eyes narrowed. The poor boy looked like he was going to cry any minute. Edward didn't say anything.

"'Alchemist work for the people'... Right?" Edward scoffed. He yanked his coat free from Khayal's grip. "If I gave you money now, it'd just end up as taxes in Yoki's vault. I don't feel like being used by all of you just to get by."

...He had a point there.

"If you're that desperate, then leave town and find another job." Edward continued, fixing his coat back in place as he turned his back.

"Kid, you don't get it." Halling said. Edward glanced over his shoulder to see the miners' leaving, Halling's hand on top of his crying son's head.

"...The mines are our homes... And our graves."

Edward shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at the sky. You could barely see him biting his lips but before you could take a closer look, he walked away. You and Alphonse followed after him, wondering what he was going to do.

"Hey, big brother! Hold on!" Alphonse called out to Edward. "Are you really going to abandon those people...?"

"Al," Edward cut his brother off, stopping in front of a cart. "How much culm do you think is here?" **(A/N: Culm = Waste from coal mines, including fine coal, coal dust, and dirt)**

"Huh? One ton... Maybe two tons?"

Edward nodded at his younger brother's answer. He then heaved himself onto the mine cart and stood atop of all the culm. Just what is he planning on doing...?

"Okay. I'm gonna do something slightly illegal now so just look the other way for a second." he told the two ofyou.

"Huh!?" Alphonse exclaimed. "...You want me to be an accomplice?"

"What you won't?" Edward questioned as he clapped his hands. Alphonse let out a sigh of defeat.

"You're gonna do it even if I say no, right?" Kneeling down, Edward slammed his hands on to the piles of rock, creating a flash of light and blue sparks. The wind created from Edward's work whipped around you, causing your clothes to flap. He slowly stood up, raising his left hand with him as gold bars were being transformed from the rocks.

"_Aaah_... If we don't get caught, we won't get caught." said Edward. You started to laugh, realizing what he plans to do.

"Really, Ed. Aren't you supposed to set an example for Alphonse?" you said, chuckling. He just glances over his shoulder and shot you one of his famous grins in response.

* * *

"...Uh..."

Yoki gaped disbelieving at the several pyramids of gold bars in front of him, mouth wide open while two of his subordinates, who were standing on either side of him, had the same expression on their faces. You, Edward, Alphonse stood near the pile, Edward with his arms crossed as he smirked confidently at the Lieutenant.

"Now... I'd like you to sell me all the rights to the coal mines." Edward said.

"Wow..." One of Yoki's lack breathed, inspecting the gold bars.

"Is this real gold?"

Edward rested a hand on his chin. "Not enough?" he asked, tilting his head a little to the side.

"P-p-please don't be absurd!" Yoki stuttered, putting his hands up while shaking his head. "With this much gold I can say goodbye to this miserable post...!" Sparkles surrounded the Lieutenant as he fantasized about what he would use the gold for. Yoki glanced over at Edward. "And also...um... If you don't mind..." Edward grinned.

"Oh yes! Of course I'll put in a good word to my superiors." he said to him.

"Oh, thank you,_ thank_ you! My _dear_ alchemist!" Yoki said happily, gripping Edward's hand as the young man laughed like he was some sort of deity.

"But making gold is illegal, so... in order to not get caught, I would appreciate it if you would write a document saying, 'The rights were peacefully transferred, free of charge'..." Edward explained.

"Oh, I wouldn't mind at all! Well then, let's do the paperwork right away!" said Yoki. He put a hand over his mouth. "My, you really are a sly one, Mr. Alchemist, sir!" Yoki laughed inwardly as he waved his other hand.

"No, no, not compared to you, Lieutenant." said Edward, laughing inwardly as well with a fan over his mouth. You and Alphonse said nothing and just watched the two men enjoy themselves.

* * *

"Why _NOT_, dad!?" Khayals yelled, slamming his fist on top of a barrel. "Why can't we do it?!"

"Because I said so," Halling simply answered. "I won't allow a raid." But his answer didn't seem to have any effect on the other miners.

"Even if you're against it, Chief. I'm still going." One miner said as he picked up his pickaxe.

"Yeah, I've had enough." Another miner voiced in, crossing his arms.

"Even if we fail, I'm gonna punch that rotten Yoki in the face at least once!" There were murmur of agreements and a few nods of heads. But Halling stood his ground.

"No! I can't allow all of you to become criminals!" Halling growled.

"But...!" Khayal was about to protest, but just then, the slam of the door opening cut him off. All eyes turned towards the door and saw you, Edward, and Alphonse at the entrance.

"Hi everybody! What a lot of gloomy faces! _You're_ looking cheerful today! " Edward cheered loudly, raising his left hand in the air as he strolled inside, you and Alphonse following him. Everybody in the shed responded with a look of annoyance and distaste at the three.

"...What are _you_ doing here?" Khayal snapped. Edward wagged a finger at him.

"Hey hey. Should you be speaking that to the new superior of this joint?" he replied with a grin.

"What the hell are y-" someone was about to yell at him, but Edward shoved some papers in his face. Pointing, the man asked, "What's this...?"

"Ownership papers," Edward explained. "They confer on the holder the rights to mining, sales, distribution and all subsidiary business in this town." he listed off.

"How did you get this...?" the miner grabbed the paper to get a closer look at it. "HEYY! And it says it's been signed over to _Edward Elric_!?"

"WHAT!?" Halling and his son yelled, faces full of shock.

"Correct! So from this moment on..." Edward spread his arms wide. "...THIS COAL MINE BELONGS TO ME!" he declared. All the miners' jaws dropped to ground and their expressions screamed 'NO WAY!'. You cracked up a little at this.

"Believe it. **(A/N: Naruto, anyone?)** But we're just a couple of vagabonds going from place to place." Edward continued.

"These documents will just be in the way... so..." Alphonse added in with a sigh.

"If only _someone_ could take these off of our hands." you joined in, placing a hand on your forehead. Halling narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he frowned at the three.

"You want to sell it to us?" he cautiously questioned as a bead of sweat traveled down his forehead. "How much?"

"What... Afraid you can't afford it?" Edward smirked. "If you want something, you have to pay the price. After all, this deed is printed on high quality goatskin parchment, stamped with a gold seal. Not only that, but in spectacular feat of craftsmanship, the deposit box is inlaid with powdered jade. Hmm...this is the work of a true _artist_. And hey! The key is made of real _silver_!" he finished his observation.

"Well, this is just a layman's opinion...but taking all this into account..." Edward paused as he looked up at Halling with a little smile. "...How about the price of one night's stay and three meals for three at your place? Would that be fair, Chief?" The man and his son stared at Edward in silence, processing what he had just said in their heads.

"Oh... The equivalent exchange..." Khayal murmured, understanding dawning on him.

"Haha..." Halling slapped his hand onto his face, his shoulders shaking as he laughed at the fact that the kid got him there. "Ha ha ha ha! You're right, that _is_ expensive!" Halling banged his fist on top of the barrel. "I'LL BUY IT!" he announced. Edward grinned and slapped the deed on top of the barrel.

"SOLD!"

Just then, Lieutenant Yoki decided to make his entrance a he slammed the door open, a look of panic on his face. Now this you had not expected. Just what does he want now? Did he want to get the paperwork back? Wasn't he satisfied with the gold?

"Mr. Alchemist, sir, what is the _meaning_ of this!?" Yoki demanded as he pushed his way into the building, his two subordinates following in after him.

"Well, well, Lieutenant. I just sold the deed to the mine to the chief here." said Edward while gesturing to Halling.

"WHAAAT!? Yoki screeched, jaw dropping. But he soon regained his composure, somewhat. "No, but that's not what I'm here for!"

It's not?

"The gold bars you gave me have all turned to _rock_! Can you please explain that!?" Yoki demanded, pointing a shaking fingers a the small pile of rocks in his hand.

You shot Edward a quizzical look as you stepped beside him. Leaning down, you asked in a whisper, "...When did you change it back?" You did know what Edward was planning to do, but you had expected him to let the Lieutenant keep the gold.

"Right before I left." Edward whispered back. He turned back to Yoki, putting on a innocent look on his face. "I don't know anything about any 'gold bars.' " Edward chirped, not that convincingly.

"Please don't act dumb! We exchanged the pile of gold for the ownership documents! This is _fraud_!" Yoki yelled in outrage.

"Huh? The deed was given to me free of charge." Edward got out the paper and showed it to Yoki with a innocent smile. "See, you signed it! It says so right here."

"WHAT!? This deal is null and void!" Yoki turned to his two men. He pointed a finger at Edward, his whole body shaking. "You two! Take those document from them! _Now_! Huh?" He stopped his order as a miner loomed over him, a evil little smile on his face.

"It's not right to try and take someone's property by force." the miner said, still smiling.

"Abusing your power, eh?" Another added as he stepped beside his fellow colleague, smirking.

"Sh...shut up. Out of my, you scum!" Yoki ordered. But you knew that his power and authority over them was crumbling away. "If you don't want to get hurt you better-"

"Lieutenant... It's not good to underestimate the strength of coal miners." The man growled, grinning as he cracked his knuckles. All the other miners joined him, picking up their tools with scary faces. Dread filled the three soldiers.

Soon enough, two of Yoki's men were down on the floor as he screamed like a little school girl.

"Oh, Lieutenant...?" Edward turned to the said bastard. Yoki flinched. "I'll be sure to tell the higher-ups about your _corruption_ and _incompetence_ too." he said smiling as he gave a little wave. "So please look forward to it. "

Yoki slumped to the ground in defeat, mouth hanging open as his soul left his body. Figuratively, if I may add.

"ALLRAAIIIGHT!" the coal miners cheered. "WE DID IT! BRING OUT THE BOOZE!" You laughed at everybody's cheerfulness, feeling happy as well. You turned to Edward and leaned forward, placing a soft, sweet, innocent kiss on his cheek. His eyes widened as the boy stumbled back, his right hand instantly reaching up to touch the spot where your lips had made contact. His face flushed, and he seemed to be babbling like an idiot, seeing how he was at a complete loss for words. You giggled at the sight, only causing Edward's face to heat even more.

"Wha-what was that for?!" Edward exclaimed, trying his best to regain his composure. You just smiled sweetly at him, still giggling.

"It's my thank you." you answered simply. And before Edward could say anything else, he was dragged away by the miners as they tried to make him drink some beer.

* * *

"_We live for each other, or have you forgotten in the middle of the night? _" - Again by YUI


	10. A Quick Explanation

Some of you are glaring at the screen, no?

Sorry if you thought this was an update. I have been SOO busy these past few weeks. Going to camps here and there hardly gave me anytime to write this fanfic. Let's just hope this will be entertaining enough to make up for it...  
Just to tell you guys, I'm not following the anime. Not the 2003 one nor the Brotherhood one. I'm following the manga. Why? 'Cause I like the manga better.  
I was considering of following the Brotherhood one, but something happened that ruined it. Here's the story:

**The Reason Why I'm Not Following The Anime (Brotherhood)**

Isaac McDougal, also known as the Freezing Alchemist, stumbled down into the alleyway. He was severely injured after his little spar against you and the Elric brothers. His right arm had blood trickling down from his shoulder, also a trickle of blood coming from his mouth.

Isaac leaned onto the wall for support. He had to get away from the Fullmeatal Alchemist. He had to hurry.

The Freezing Alchemist suddenly stopped in his tracks. There, right in front of him, was the very man he had been planning, wanting to kill.

"Bradley!"

Fuhrer President King Bradley stood in front of Isaac, his eye narrowed in anger.

Panting and slightly wheezing, Isaac stood there as he stared disbelief on his face. The he started to laugh.

"Say your prayers!"

He extended his right arm out to the side. Using his own blood, he froze it and turned it into a lance. There was a crazed look on his face now.

Isaac grinned madly, thinking about his little victory if he kill the man who stood right before him. He took a step forward, and another. Each step he took, his speed increased and soon, he was sprinting towards Bradley.

"BRADLEY!" Isaac screamed.

He slashed to the side and suddenly staggered into a halt. Fuhrer King Bradley sheathed his sword that he had pulled out with unimaginable speed.

The moment the sword fully met the sheathe, Isaac McDougal's clothes tore to pieces, leaving his naked.

"Police!" Bradley cried out. "There's a pervert here!"

"Just kill me, please!" Isaac begged, trying to cover up his...ehem...

"**CUT!**"

A bullhorn flew through the air and hit Bradley on the head with a loud smack.

"Damnit, Bradley! You just _had_ to go and do that, huh!?" a voice screamed.

There sitting on the chair, was a girl with a scowl on her face, wearing a hat had the words "The Director" stitched onto it.

"P-please Miss Vanilla Girl! Control your anger! There was no need to throw the bullhorn at him!" a man tried to calm her down.

"Oh there was _plenty_ of need to do that! Bradley just ruined everything! EVERYTHING!" Vanilla Girl wailed.

"He didn't ruin anything. We can just do that scene all over again!"

"That's what I meant by 'everything'!"

"Uh, Miss Vanilla Girl...?" a timid voice spoke up.

Vanilla Girl whirled around and faced the one who had wanted her attention.

"Yes?"

"A letter from Mr. Isaac McDougal." He handed her the letter and after she took it, he ran off. Wondering what that was about, Vanilla Girl opened the letter.

What was written in the letter were three words, five letters.

_I quit_.

...Silence...

"BRADLEY! YOU JUST GOT YOUR PAYMENT CUT TO A HALF!"

Well, there you have it!

Dear Isaac quit from the embarrassment that Bradley had caused. And because of losing a character, we switched to the manga last minute.

No, I'm just kidding. I just wanted to write this after watching the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood 4-Koma Theatre. Watch the first episode here!

Bye for now! You'll probably see some more of these (and me) later in the future!

* * *

I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING!


	11. Chapter 11

"...How can this brat sleep through all of this?" muttered the man with a shotgun as he leaned onto one of the train seats.

It really _is _pretty amazing that Edward could sleep in a situation like this. At first, the three of you were riding on the train peacefully, searching East City for clues about the Philosopher's Stone, but still not finding anything that would work. Edward then decided to take a nap, and who could blame him? Anyone would be tired after after pulling an all-nighter, researching ancients texts for the Philosopher's Stone in New Optain. Of course, you were there helping him, but he _insisted_ that you should get some rest. Knowing that it would be pointless to argue with him, you bade him a goodnight. Besides, you really did needed it.

And now, there you were, staring at Edward with slight wonder as he slept, snoring away while the train was being hijacked. Two men with guns had entered the train car and threatened all the passengers that if they make any some kind of move or resistant, a bullet's going to go through them. By the tone of their voice, it was no joke.

And Edward had slept through _all_ that.

The passengers' were stiff as billboards, glancing nervously every now and then at the two hijackers. Some were even sweating beads of sweat, face pale. You sighed, wishing to be out of this predicament.

"Hey!" the man poked Edward's cheek using the tip of his shotgun none too gently. "Wake up!"

But Edward continued on with his nap, snoring away.

"Why you..."

"Please sir,"

The man turned his head towards you as you piped up, an irritated look on his face. "Let him sleep. I think it'd benefit everyone if you didn't wake him up." you said with your voice slightly shaking, but still calmly. The hijacker just snorted and turned his attention back to Edward, proceeding to try and awaken him. He just completely ignored you! What nerve!

"Act more like a hostage...YOU LITTLE RUNT!" he shouted.

That did it. Edward snapped his eyes open and with a stomp, Edward got to his feet, fully awake. His golden eyes glowed as a dark, menacing aura surrounded him. And by the look of his face, he was pissed. Probably by the man's rudeness and having his nap interrupted.

"Huh? What?" the hijacker questioned, totally unaware of Edward's deadly anger. "You got a problem or something!? Huh!?" He slid his gun in front of Edward's face, threatening to shoot.

Edward just claps his hands, the gun's point getting mushed in between them. And using his alchemy, he transmuted the gun's point into a horn, twisting it for good measure. The hijacker jerked his now distorted gun back, staring at it with wide eyes.

"Wh-what the hell is _this_!?" the hijacker exclaimed.

Edward kicked the man in the face using, and you winced when you heard a small 'krikk', meaning that his head was snapped to the side. The hijacker fell to ground, unconscious. Alphonse face palmed, wondering to himself why his older brother had to be so reckless.

"I _did_ try to warn him," you sighed. "But nooo, he just had to be rude and wake him up. Well..." you smirked. "He _did _deserve it."

"That was dumb, kid," the other hijacker said, pointing his pistol at Edward. Crap! You completely forgot about the other one! "We were ordered to kill all resisters. I don't want to shoot a runt like you but..." he said as he started to pull the trigger.

"Okay, okay. The two of you should just calm down," Alphonse intervenes, raising the gun so it would be away from his brother's face.

"What?!" the hijacker shouted at Alphonse. "You want to fight us-" Before he could finish his sentence, Edward knees the guy in the face, surprising you by the sudden action.

"YOU CALL ME A RUNT?!" Edward screamed as he started to pound the man into pulp. "A DWARF?! A 'LITTLE PERSON!?"

"I DIDN'T SAY ALL THAT STUFF!"

"Big brother! Big brother! If you don't stop, he's gonna die!" Alphonse said calmly, his hand out as he tried to ease Edward.

Edward paused, holding the bruised and slightly bloody hijacker by the collar. He sleepily looks around, looking back and forth between you and Alphonse, golden eyes narrowed in irritation. "So, um..." he pointed at the man in his grasp. "Who _are_ these guys?"

Alphonse sighed and hung his head down. You just giggled, finding it quite amusing that Edward had just subconsciously reacted to the word 'runt'.

* * *

"Besides us, there are two more in the engine room and four more in the first class car guarding the general," the now tied up hijacker told the three of you. His companion was still unconscious, but you still tied him up anyway. "There are four in the coach car standing guard in different locations,"

"And the rest?" Edward prodded, smiling innocently while holding his fist up threateningly.

"That's it! Really! There's no more!"

"There's still ten more of them!" a passenger spoke up fearfully.

"What're you going to do now? When they hear you beat up their men, they might come to retaliate...!"

"Everyone, please calm down!" you told all the fretting passengers. "We'll sort this out! Until then, please remain here for your safety!"

Alphonse sighed. "If _somebody_ was more mature, this might have ended peacefully."

"You can't move forward if you keep regretting the past, little brother!"

"Since things turned out this way, we don't have any choice but to use some force." you said, smirking a little.

"That's the spirit!" said Edward, "What's done is done. I'll go above. Al, you take them from below, all right?"

"Sure, sure." Alphonse replied.

"(Name), you go with Al."

"Uh, no," you responded, "I'm going with you. And don't go starting about how dangerous it is! I've faced far worse and you know it!" you finished with a huff. Edward let out a sigh, knowing what you were saying was true.

"...Fine, do whatever you want," You beamed, victorious. Edward opened the train window, sliding it to the side, and started to make his way out.

"Wh... who are you guys?" a passenger asked. You turned around and shot them a grin, crossing your arms.

"We're alchemists!"

"WHOAAAH! WIND PRESSURE! WIND PRESSURE!" Edward screamed, hanging off the window of the train.

"How uncool..." Alphonse muttered, helping his brother so that he wouldn't lose his grip.

"Aw, Ed! You just totally ruined the moment!"

* * *

**(A/N: Hello, dear readers! I'm sorry this was a such short chapter! You see, in a few hours I'm going on a little vacation and I'll be away for about a week. AND I CAN'T TAKE MY LAPTOP! But do not fear! I'll be taking my notebook that has all my rough drafts and ideas written in them! So the next time I update, it'll be ****_way_**** longer than this chapter. So look forward to it! - Vanilla Girl)**

"_Roy Mustang. Rank: Colonel. And one more thing._ _I'm the 'Flame Alchemist.' Don't forget that._" - Roy Mustang


	12. Chapter 12

"(Name)! Take my hand!" Edward shouted over the wind, his hand outstretched for you to take. Grasping your hand tightly, he pulled you up to the train's rooftop. But the swaying of the train and the force of pulling you made Edward go a little unsteady on his feet that you collided into him. "Woah! Careful there!" he chuckled at you, stumbling a bit back.

"Sorry!" you said, turning a little pink from embarrassment.

"It's going to be easy to lose your balance here, so watch your steps," he told you. You nodded and smiled, making Edward blush. You were thankful that he was there for you.

"Well then..." Edward shot you a grin. "Why don't we give it a shot!" You nodded and returned the grin.

"Yeah!"

* * *

You tucked a strand of your hair that was poking your eye behind your ear. Damn wind! It really was starting to irritate you! Your cloak and clothes flapped wildly, your hood pulled back because of the powerful wind. You tightened your grip on Edward's hand. Even after he helped you on top of the train, he still hadn't let go of you.

"You okay there, (Name)?" Edward asked, glancing back to check on you. You rolled your eyes.

"I'm _fine,_ Ed," you answered with a little laugh, "Really, there's nothing for you to worry about!"

"You have a fear of heights."

You immediately stopped laughing and turned pink. He still remembered that day?! That day when you climbed a tree to the very top but refused to come down after realizing how high you were? Yes, of course he would remember. It was your most embarrassing day of your life. And also the day you developed a fear of heights.

Edward snickered to himself as he watched you, amused. You looked away as you felt your face turn redder. You can _not _let him see your blush. It gives him the incentive to constantly try and get you flustered.

"Come on, (Name)," Edward said as he tugged on your hand to get your attention. "We have to get going. No time to dawdle,"

"Hey! You're saying it like it's my fault!" you protested, pouting your lips. Edward just laughs as he trudged onward, taking you with him.

Suddenly, round of bullets pierced out through the train's roof. One grazed your cheek, but you paid it no heed for you and Edward were too busy trying to dodge the pelting bullets.

"Ow!"

The bullets then stopped shooting, and Edward hopped to the end of the train car with one foot. "Whoa, that was too close!" he said as he held up his leg.

"What happened?!" you asked, kneeling down next to Edward as he took off his leather boot, revealing his automail leg. Looking closely, you noticed that a bullet was stuck between the line of gap on the sole of the foot, right near the heel.

"Man...If it weren't for my left leg, I would've been gone." Edward muttered, plucking out the bullet. You breathed a sigh of relief. You had really thought that he got severely injured, or possibly worse. After all, you don't want to see you best friend lying on the ground, bleeding. Just thinking about it left your whole body trembling in fear.

"You had me really worried there..." you said, head down. Edward looked up at you, about to say something to reassure you, but he noticed the wound on your beautiful face.

"(Name), your cheek..."

You blinked, confused at what Edward meant. Then remembering the scratch you had received from the bullets, you touched your cheek and winced when your hand made contact. You had completely forgotten about it. "Oh, this? It's nothing," you said to Edward with a bright smile. "It's just a small scratch! At least it's not bleeding...no, wait. I spoke too soon..." you muttered as you stared at your hand, two of your fingers slightly smudged red.

Edward narrowed his eyes angrily as he glanced behind the car door, glaring at the one inside who had previously shot at them. "Dammit! Just you wait..." he muttered.

"Anyway, do you have some kind of plan in mind?" you asked. "'Cause I have no idea what we're going to do."

Edward nodded in response. So he did have a plan. That's good. "First, we'll recapture the engine room!"

* * *

Two men with guns in their hands stood guard, watching the two locomotive engineers work in the abnormally large engine room as to make sure they kept train going.

As they watched, one of the hijackers noticed something whiz by him. He bent down to see what it was as it hit the ground, picking it up and examining it. "A bullet?"

"Where did that..."

Before the other hijacker could finish his question, he was slammed into one of the pipes by Edward's feet, his face getting smushed. He let out a grunt and collapsed onto the floor.

Edward entered through the window, you following suit just as the other hijacker turned around to see what the ruckus was. "Why you..." he growled as he prepared to shoot while you prepared to attack him. But before you could take action, one of the engineers smacked the man's head with his coal smudged shovel. Hard.

You and Edward watched, surprised and speechless as the two locomotive engineers pummeled the hijacker with their shovels of death. Once the man was unconscious, they sent you a thumbs up, in which the two of you returned. "Anything I can do?" the elderly engineer asked as you two climbed out of the window and up a ladder.

"Just drive safely, please!" you answered. Edward climbed to the top of the ladder and suddenly stopped in his tracks. Curious at his sudden halt, you stretched your neck to see what was the hold up.

"There you are, you rodents," a hijacker said through a trapdoor, gun held up and aimed at the two of you. He fired multiple times but missed as you quickly ducked out of the way while Edward fell into a car full of coal.

"Th..." He clapped his hands. "THAT WAS DANGEROUS, YOU JERK!" Edward transmuted the coals to a cannon and fired the cannon ball at the man. It didn't hit him directly, but it was enough to knock him back into the trapdoor he came from.

"Good one, Ed!"

The elderly engineer popped his head out the window, looking indignant. "Hey! What are you doing to the tender car! That's got the water and coal for the whole trip!" he shouted to Edward.

"Oh! Sorry!" Edward apologized. He then narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Hmm? The tender car...?" he muttered. You curiously looked at him, wondering what the young prodigy has in mind.

Edward rapped the side of the tender car using his knuckles. "Hmm..."

"Got some kind of idea, Ed?" you asked as you joined him by his side. He flashed you a grin. Yup, he definitely has some kind of idea.

"How's your water alchemy coming along, (Name)?"

* * *

"Bald! That's no mouse!" the hijacker said to his boss, Bald, who stood before him. "I don't know who they are, but there's some crazy guys up there...!"

"Hey, car no. 2! What's going on!? Hey!" a hijacker yelled into the phone.

"Help... There's a huge suit of armor..." someone on the other line said fearfully.

"**Armor**!? What are you talking..." But his question was cut off by the man's scream and sounds of bullets firing. The phone then went dead, only silence on the other line. All the hijackers stared at it frightfully, faces growing pale.

***Clank!***

The hijackers flinched at the sudden noise, still pretty shaken about the phone call. Turning around, they saw a strange megaphone-shaped horn materialize above the exit with a little 'floop'. They all stared at it curiously and strangely.

"What the...?" one muttered. The megaphone then spoke.

"_Hello hello. Calling all hijackers,_" it, Edward, said. "_We have recaptured the engine room and the rear cars. This car is the only one left,_"

"_Please lay down your arms and let the hostages go..._" your voice added in. "_If not, we will have no choice but to use force,_"

"What a joke!" Bald yelled angrily. "I don't know who you are, but as long as we have the hostages, we'll never give up!"

Outside of the first-class car, you let out a sigh. Really! Can't they see that it's no use? "_Oh my, you're still going to resist?_" Edward queried. He clapped his hands and transmuted a water pipe, connecting the water from the tender car to the first-class exit. "_Too bad... Talk's over. Bye. All passengers, please take cover,_" Edward turned his head, glancing over his shoulder to look at you. "Now, (Name)!"

You clapped your own hands and placed them on top of the tender car. The water inside the car surged forward, going through the pipe that Edward had set up. From open windows of the first-class car, you saw the water pouring out, meaning that the plan to flood the first-class car was a success.

"In you go, Edward!" you shouted at him after you ceased using your water alchemy. He didn't need to be told twice. Edward jumped into the trapdoor of the car, ready for a battle with the leader of the terrorists. You didn't follow the boy right away. Instead, you cleaned up the transmutation you and Edward had done and then jumped in after him.

Once inside, you saw that Alphonse was there as well with Edward, the two of them standing over the unconscious Bald. "Well, looks like you took care of him!" you said with a grin, hands on hips. Then you noticed Bald's left arm. "Oh~ So he wears an automail, too, huh? Such a shame. You and him could have been good buds, Ed, talking about auto-mails over a cup of tea or coffee, " you teased the boy. Edward just rolled his eyes.

"Har, har. Very funny. And besides, he had the cheaper model. What was there to talk about?"

"Eh, good point," you said, glancing at the automail that had been cut in half by Edward himself.

* * *

The train arrived safely in East City, much to your relief. You were worried that the train wouldn't make the journey after you had used most of the water for the boiler. But looks like everything turned out alright.

Bald was immediately taken into custody, along with his goons when you got off the train. At the station, a certain someone was there to greet the three of you. "Hey, Fullmetal," Roy Mustang said with a hand raised in a little wave.

Edward made a face when he saw the Colonel, eyebrows furrowed and face contorted into a scowl. "Oh, hello, Colonel," Alphonse greeted Roy politely, like he always is.

"What's with the unhappy face?"

" #$%... I wouldn't have helped out if I knew it was in _your _district!" Edward growled, hand on forehead.

"Are you saying that you were going to let those terrorist harm the innocent passengers, Edward? Hey! I'm talking you!" You shouted at the blondie when he ignored your question. You pouted, huffing as you crossed your arms.

"You still don't like me...huh?" Roy said. "I guess you're still not back to normal,"

Edward lifted his auto-mail arm, clenching it into a fist. "I'm researching the ancient texts, but nothing yet... Right now we've been searching East City, but we still haven't found anything that might work,"

"But we will!" you piped in, voice determined. "We will find a way! I'm sure of it!" You smiled brightly at Edward, in which he returned with a playful nudge, making you giggle. Roy watched the two of you, amused.

"I've heard the rumors," he said, interrupting you and Edward. "It seems you two are causing quite a commotion,"

Edward groaned. "I guess you're as nosy as ever,"

"Frankly, it's hard not to hear about the two of you,"

Suddenly, there was a cry of pain, making jump and hurriedly hiding behind Edward. "Scared~?" he teased you.

"Shut up,"

Peeking, well, more like looking over from Edward's head (because you're taller than him), you saw Bald, out of his bounds and two injured officers by his side, bleeding. The man huffed, lifting his damaged automail, showing everyone the concealed knife. So that's how he escaped.

"Whoa."

Riza Hawkeye readied her gun. "Please stay back, Colonel..." But Roy just put a hand in front of her, making her pause.

"I'll take care of this."

Roy removed one of his gloved hands from his pocket, just as Bald angrily charged at him, knife aimed right for his heart. Roy just lifts his hand calmly into the air and snapped his fingers. There was a trail of flare from the Colonel's hand and then a fiery explosion, a huge boom that you had to cover your ears.

Bald screamed, stumbling back and landing at the foots' of several Military Polices. They started to restrain him once again as Roy walked over to the smoking Bald. "I took it easy on you," he said. "If you try to resist again, I'll turn you into ash, got it?"

"You damn..." Bald growled. "Who the hell are you!?"

"Roy Mustang. Rank: Colonel." Roy simply replied. "And one more thing." He straightened his uniform collar. "I'm the 'Flame Alchemist.' Don't forget that."

* * *

_We try chasing down ways to further our dream, but then we trip over people on the narrow path that winds. _-Again by YUI

**(A/N: I FINALLY UPDATED! I am so sorry for the wait! I was really busy since school is going to start again soon. I want to apologize to everyone and announce something. I will be (trying) to update this story once a week, but the chapters might be shorter! Well, that's it for today! Thanks for reading! :D **)

Extra

"Hey, new guy," Vanilla Girl called out. The said newbie looked up, somewhat surprised.

"You mean me, ma'am?" he asked, pointing to himself.

"Of course. Know any other new members who just joined the crew recently?"

"...No, ma'am," The newbie jogged over to her. "Is there something you need of my assistance?" he asked, barely containing his excitement.

"Yes, and it's something only _you _can do,"  
His chest swelled with pride. Yes! He had finally been recognized by the director, Miss Vanilla Girl! After all the hard work of trying to join the crew, he can finally fulfill his dream: to be of service to Miss Vanilla Girl!

"I'll do it, ma'am! Even if I have to go and capture-" Vanilla Girl cut him off.

"Yes, yes. Thank you very much. But please, don't," she said, sweatdropping.

"What is it you need of my assistance?"

Vanilla Girl's face turned grim, and with a grave voice, she said, "Fetch the little girl,"

The newbie stiffened and his blood ran cold as dread filled him. Wait, does she mean...? He had to make sure...

"Y-you don't mean, the one with the pigtails?" he stammered.

"Yes, I do. And don't forget about the dog," His head hung down, his suspicions true.

"Y-yes, ma'am." And with that, he walked away, body hunched over. Vanilla Girl watched him go and sighed, feeling terribly sorry for the newbie.

"The time has come. The time that all the fans of Fullmetal Alchemist cried about..." she muttered, walking away.


	13. Chapter 13

"You owe me for this one, Colonel," Edward said with a smirk. Right now, the three of you were in Roy Mustang's office after leaving the train station, sitting on the seats provided.

"Hearing you say that makes a chill run down my spine..." said Roy.

You were tempted to ask what kind of chill it was after imagining him saying it in a different way.

"All right. So what do you want?" Roy asked.

"You sure come right to the point," Edward said. "I need to know more about Bio-Alchemy. Where can I go around here for more information? Like a library or an expert?"

"Right now? You sure are in a hurry..." Roy complains, but he still gets up from his desk and goes to a bookshelf.

"My arm and leg aren't going to just grow back if I wait long enough!" Edward fumed.

"It's been awhile since we saw each other... Why don't we have a cup of tea?" You rolled your eyes at that.

"Since you have something that could help us in researching Bio-Alchemy, I don't think we would have time for that, Colonel. But thank you for the offer," you replied.

"Besides, what's so fun about drinking tea with _**you**_?" said Edward.

"Ed!"

"What? It's true."

"Those kind of stuff are supposed to be said in your head," you hissed, tapping the blonde's forehead at the last three words. "No matter how true it is,"

"The last part could have been said in your head as well, (Name)," Roy muttered, loud enough for you to pick up. You spun around and stuck out your tongue childishly. As you did, your locket jiggled out, the chains jingling and the silver gleaming as it caught the sunlight. Roy took notice of it.

"...Have you opened it yet?" Roy asked. You halted, putting your tongue back in as you just stood there, clutching the locket. Edward and Alphonse looked up, their focus on you and Roy. They knew you were finding the key to it, but you never said anything to them if you had come close to finding it or not.

"No..." you answered Roy's question. "Actually, I was wondering if you knew anything about it. There's something I wanted to ask you about..."

"Umm...I know it's here somewhere..." Roy muttered to himself as he searched through a shelf of files. "What is it that you want to ask?"

You clutched your locket tighter. Finally! You were going to figure out the mystery of the locket! Could it be that Colonel Mustang had the key all along? As your hopes rose, you took a deep breath.

"Why did you give me this locket?"

"Because I was told to," was Roy's simple answer. You blinked disbelievingly, hopes falling.

"But that doesn't answer anything!" you yelled. "Who told you to give it to me?! And why? Why me?!"

"Here it is," Roy fished out a document file and opened it, looking through its contents. "To be honest, I was never told to give it to you specifically."

"Then _how_ did you know it was _me_ you were supposed to give!?" you demanded, stomping your feet in frustration.

"I'm not hundred percent sure yet, but there is a way to find out," Roy replied calmly.

"And how's that?"

"You must become a State Alchemist."

**Extended Ending**

"Now how is that going to clarify _anything_?!"


	14. Chapter 14

"'_**Chimera**__: An artificial fusion created by Alchemically 'marrying' two genetically dissimilar life forms_,'" Roy Mustang said as he looked up from the document he was holding. "In other words, there's a chimera researcher in this city. Shou Tucker, the 'Sewing Life Alchemist,'" You, Edward, Alphonse, and Roy were inside a car, on your way to the said chimera researcher's house. Alphonse and Edward sat next to each other while you sat next to Mustang, half-listening to what he was saying as you stared outside the window. You were deep in your own thoughts, thinking about what Roy had said earlier, about you becoming a State Alchemist.

"He got his State Alchemist's certification two years ago when he created a chimera that could speak," Roy continued, catching your attention on the last part. You whirled your head around to stare at Roy, but the sudden jerk of the head caused a whiplash.

"It could speak?" Edward exclaimed in disbelief while you were clutching the back of your neck in pain. "You mean it talked like a human? A chimera?!"

"That would appear to be the case,"

"Wow..." you breathed in awe once the pain faded. Thank goodness it didn't last that long "That's amazing...have you seen the talking chimera, Colonel?"

Roy shook his head as his answer. "I wasn't in charge at the time, so I've never actually seen it," he said. "It can understand human speech, and it spoke..." Roy paused there. "But all it said was... 'I want to die.' After that, it refused to eat and died not long after."

Awkward silence filled the tiny car with that happy thought in mind. You turned your attention back to window and watched the scenery pass, once again going into your mind and venturing it. Possibly even deeper than before.

A State Alchemist. In order to find out about your locket, you had to become a State Alchemist, just for a simple thing. But to you, this wasn't a just simple thing. The past three years, you searched for clues that were related to the locket, but you didn't find any. Soon, you were losing hope.

You had to know about the locket, what's inside it and why it was given to you. And maybe, just maybe, the locket might tell you who your parents are.

You had always felt that the locket might lead you to something about your parents. You don't know why, but it just felt like it would.

And once you find out about your parents, you'll be able to know who you truly are.

"(Name),"

You snapped out of your thoughts and turned your head to the one who had wanted your attention. "We're here, (Name)," Edward said. His golden eyes were shining with excitement, making you smile.

"Yeah."

The car slowly came to a steady halt, and once the engine was turned off, you and everyone else climbed out, Edward surprising you by helping you out of the car like a gentlemen. "Why, thank you, my good sir," you joked, doing a little curtsy. Edward grinned at this.

"You're very welcome, my lady," he said as he mockingly bowed low with a straight face. The two of you glanced up at each other, snorted, and burst into bouts of laughter.

"...Big brother, (Name), what are you two doing?" Alphonse questioned, giving you two a strange questioning look only he could pull off with his armor.

"Nothing, Al. Just nothing," you said, snickering. After you had calmed down a bit, you looked up at the house before you. "Oh, wow..."

Probably the only way to describe the house was that it was ginormous. But despite the size, the condition it was in wasn't great. The walls had cracks in them, and the bushes surrounding the house needed a trim,the lawn needed mowing, and the weeds needed to be pulled out.

But, ignoring all the untidiness and unkept condition, the size was still pretty impressive. "What a huge place..." Edward muttered in awe, head looking up and eyes wide as he marveled the house before him. You just mutely nodded in agreement, bending your back a bit to try and get a full view of the mansion-like estate.

Roy climbed up the steps of the house and rang the bell by swinging the rope back and forth, making it ding cheerily. As the three of you waited patiently, a rustling from a bush caught Edward's attention. He glances over and a large shadow fell over him, casting along the sidewalk as well. Edward looked up and his eyes bulged.

"GYAAAAGGH!"

You turned around as you heard the high-pitched scream and a loud thump of a body hitting the concrete painfully. You then burst into laughter, clutching your stomach, seeing Edward squashed by a huge fluffy white dog, who turned its head towards you, coal-black eyes shining with excitement as it wagged its tail, panting heavily. "You need any help there, Edward?" you asked him in between laughter, wiping away a tear.

"No," he replied stubbornly. "And don't laugh!"

"I can't help it!"

"Hey, Alexander. You stop that!" a deep voice commanded the white beast. The dog, Alexander, got up off the young boy as it was told. You extended a hand out to Edward.

"Come on. I'm going to help to whether you like it or not," you told him. Edward grumbles a bit, but takes your hand.

"Wow, daddy! Lots of guests!" a small, childish voice exclaimed.

After you helped Edward up, you turned around to see who the voice belonged to. What you noticed first was the small little girl with long brown hair that was tied into two pigtail braids. She held the door open, her bright blue eyes sparkling and her mouth stretched into a huge smile. She was just absolutely adorable.

A man with short brown hair and tired blue eyes behind his glasses appeared behind the little girl. "Nina, I told you to keep the dog tied up," he said to the child, Nina. You assumed that the man must be her father and also Shou Tucker, the Sewing Life Alchemist. He certainly looks different than how you had imagined him.

All of you were quickly invited inside and was seated at a table. There was a light musty smell in the house and the sight of scattered books and boxes, cobwebs, and dust was everywhere. "I apologize for the mess," Tucker said as he brought in some tea. "It's been like this since my wife left me..." Tucker took a spot of his own in front of you, Edward, Alphonse, and Roy. "Nice to meet you, Edward," he friendly greeted. "I'm Shou Tucker. The one they call the 'Sewing Life Alchemist.'"

"Edward's interested in Biological Alchemy," Roy said. "I told him you might be able to show him your research,"

"Oh, I don't mind..." Tucker said with a smile. "...But if you want to see what's up my sleeve, first you have to show me what's up **_yours_**_._ Alchemy is about 'Equivalent Exchange.'"

"So, why are you interested in biological transmutation?"

* * *

(A/N: I FINALLY UPDATED! Sorry that took forever... Hope you enjoyed it!)


	15. Chapter 15

So, why are you interested in biological transmutation?" Shou Tucker asked.

All of you froze at Tucker's question. Heavy dead silence filled the room and you felt Edward stiffen beside you. Your heart was pounding wildly as a feeling of dread washed over you. Would you have to explain everything? Explain the tragic past and the sin the three of you had committed? You glanced to your right, and judging by the look in his eyes, Edward was thinking the same thing you were. He was scared.

You took his hand and gently gave it squeeze, getting his attention. Edward turned his head to the side, seeing you looking up into his molten golden eyes. the message you were trying to send to him was clear:

_"It's alright."_

Mustang was the one who broke the still silence. "_Um_... Well, he's..." he stammered, trying to come up with an excuse on the spot.

"Colonel," Edward interrupted, raising his hand to stop Mustang. He looked at you and Alphonse, in which the two of you gave a nod. "Mr. Tucker has the right to an answer." Edward snapped the collar of his jacket and took it off, revealing his prosthetic limb.

Tucker stared at the boy, eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar. "So...that's why you're called the 'Fullmetal Alchemist.'"

And the story began.

* * *

"I see, so you lost your mother..." Tucker murmured sympathetically. "That must have been hard," He directed his eyes on you and Edward. "You both transmuted the same person, but I can't seem to distinguish any resemblance between the two of you. Are you two even related?" You held up your hands in defense.

"No!" you said quickly, trying to clear up the misunderstanding. "I'm not related to them. I was left in their mother's care, but she loved me as if I was her own daughter,"

"And you loved her as if she was your own mother?"

"Yes," you said. "I know it's not in my place to say so, but I considered her as my mother,"

"I've told my superior that he lost his limbs in the civil war in the East," Mustang stepped in. "I must ask you to keep quiet about his attempts at human transmutation,"

"Sure. No problem. I'm sure the military couldn't afford to lose such a bright individual..." Tucker slowly got up from his seat. "Well then... Let me show you my laboratory, although I'm not sure if it will be much help to you,"

He led you into his lab and when you walked in, creatures with deformed shapes and sizes snarled at the newcomers from the inside of their cages. Some let out a long, loud screech like a monkey would, making you take a step back, feeling a little intimidated by them. "Ahh..you've got to excuse me..." Tucker apologized, placing a hand on top of his forhead. "I'm supposed to be the authority on chimeras, but in reality, it's never easy. Lots of failures...lots of false starts," he explained.

Ticker led you down the hall to another room that had wooden double-doors. "This is my file room." He opened the doors, causing it to creak loudly, and revealed the marvels inside.

You felt your eyes go wide when the lights flicked on. The place was packed with shelves and shelves of books, multiples of them lining up beside the walls. It was a grand sight to see, enough for your face to break into a huge grin.

"This is **_incredible!_**" Edward exclaimed, jaw dropping.

"Feel free to look around," Tucker told him, smiling kindly. "I'll be in the lab."

Edward placed a hand over his mouth, golden eyes scanning through different shelves of books. "All right then, I'll start with this shelf,"

"Okay, I'll start from over there," said Alphonse.

You pointed to a shelf that wasn't so far from Edward's. "I'll take this one then!"

"All right, you three. I have to get back to work," Mustang told you. "I'll send some of my men to get you before dark,"

You nodded at him. "Thank you, Colonel," Edward said nothing to Mustang as he opened a book, eyes scanning through the pages as he mumbled under his breath, totally engrossed in it.

"...He has an amazing abilityto focus," Tucker commented. "When he's reading, he doesn't even hear the voices around him,"

"Yes," Mustang agreed. "You know he's not average, becoming a State Alchemist so young,"

"I guess...geniuses really do exist," Tucker muttered, so quietly that nobody heard him.

Mustang turned his head towards you as you took out a book to read. "(Name)," You looked up from the book that you were just about to read. Did he _have_ to interrupt you? "Have you thought about the offer?"

You blinked, confused at what Mustang meant. Then you remembered. "To know about my locket, I have to become a State Alchemist, right?" Mustang nodded. "I'll do it,"

Now it was Mustang's turn to blink. He was surprised that you would actually agree to it. "Alrighty then. Come by my office tomorrow and we'll both head to Central,"

"So soon?!" you exclaimed, standing up abruptly. "Wait...did you plan this from the start!?" you accused, pointing a finger at Mustang.

"I don't know what you're talking about," was Mustang's answer. It was pretty obvious he knew _exactly_ what you're talking about. "But if you're thinking of backing out, you can't now," he added, turning around to leave.

"Grrr..." Annoyed at the man, you angrily sat back down, opening a book to read. Once your eyes met the words on the paper, you soon forgot about everything and lost yourself into the books.

* * *

*Gong. Gong*

The loud sound the grandfather's clock was makinng broke your concentration. You looked up from your twenty-fifth book and glanced over at the clock, amazed at how time flies. You turned your head to the right then to the left. That's weird...where did Edward and Alphonse go?

"GYAAAAGGH!"

You jumped as the scream filled the library, scaring the wits out of you. Putting down your book, you hurriedly ran towards to where it came from. "What the heck happened!?" you yelled, sliding into a halt. First you just stared, then burst into fits of laughter seeing Edward squashed by Alexander the dog. Again.

"Oh, hey big brother," said Alphonse, entering the scene with adorable Nina on his shoulders.

"What do you mean, '_**Hey, big brother'**_?" Edward yelled at him. "You're supposed to be looking through the data, not _**babysitting**_!"

"Well, Nina wanted me to play with her, so..." said Alphonse, pointing at Nina.

"Why you...!" You just laughed.

"Oh, Al. You're so easily influenced," you said, grinning. Alexander got off of Edward, but started to lick his face wet with dog slobber.

"Hey, big brother! Alexander says he wants _**you**_ to play with him _**too**_!" Nina chirped happily. You couldn't help but go mentally 'Awww' at her.

Edward got out his handkerchief and wiped the dog drool off his face, one of his eyebrow twitching. "_Hmph_... You've got a lot of nerve asking me to play with you, dog..." Edward muttered. "They say that catching a mere rabbit takes every bit of a lion's strength..." Alexander just panted, tail wagging as Edward continued, "JUST TRY TO SIT ON ME AGAIN, YOU CANINE FIEND! I, EDWARD ELRIC, WILL FIGHT WITH MY ENTIRE BODY AND SOUL!" he screamed, chasing after the dog. Nina just laughed her cute little laugh as the two ran off.

You got Nina off Alphonse's shoulder and put her on top of your own. "Come on, Nina. Let's go after them and see what happens," you said.

"Yeah!"

* * *

"Hey chief, I'm here to pick you up," Jean Havoc said as he entered the library, Shou Tucker right behind. "...Mind if I ask what you're doing?" he asked, leaning on the doorway as he looked down.

Edward was on the floor with Alexander on top of him for the third time today. He kept muttering "ow" under his breath again and again like it was a chant that could get the huge dog off of him. "So, what were you yelling about fighting with your entire mind and body?" you innocently asked as you knelt down in front of the blondie.

"Shut up, (Name)," Alexander got off Edward's back, allowing him to sit back up. "_Uh_, well...I guess you could say I'm just taking a little break from my research?"

"So did you find any useful data?" Tucker questioned. Edward's face was a clear answer that none of you had found _anything _useful. "...You can come back tomorrow,"

"Are you gonna come back?" Nina asked excitedly.

"Uh-huh. Let's play again tomorrow," Alphonse promised.

Smiling, you picked up Nina and lifted her into the air. "Be a good girl, okay?"

"I will!"

As the three of you were leaving the room, Havoc remembered something, stopped, and turned around. "Oh, Mr. Tucker, I have a message from the Colonel. He said 'Please don't forget that the Assessment Date is coming up,'"

"...Yes, I know."

And with that, you were out of the door.

* * *

**Extended Ending**

"(Name),"

"Yeah, Ed? What's up?"

"So you're really going to take the State Alchemist test?"

"Uh-huh. Besides, I promised you that I would take it years ago. It's way overdue,"

"You know what it would mean to become a State Alchemist, right?" You nodded.

"I know. I would be called a 'Dog of the Military' and some other not-so-good names. But that's fine!"

"How are you going to impress the judge?"

The corners of your mouth stretched upwards, forming into a smile.

"Oh, I have a...little plan,"

Edward didn't like that smile of yours.

**(A/N: I was able to update early 'cause I was sick! Yay! I'm all better now, so you readers won't be getting another update soon, sadly. Well, unless I catch another cold again. Hope you enjoyed that chapter. 'That part' is coming soon, and my, my. Reader, what do you have up your sleeve for the State Alchemist test? Wait to find out! Ciao!)**


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